Going Home
by MainlyMaddison
Summary: Paul has imprinted, and Jacob doesn't approve. Rachel comes home from college and finds much more than she expected. Paul/Rachel
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, Another new story. Paul imprinted in Breaking Dawn. Yay for him! There won't be any major spoilers until later on in the story, but if you haven't read BD yet, and don't want to know anything about the book, I would recommend reading it first. It was really good, haha. **

**Well here's Rachel and Paul's story in my eyes, yay!**

**I do not own anything.**

**Chapter One**

"Rach, honey, I can't do this alone," my dad begged into the phone.

My heart broke for him. "I'm done with school in one day, Dad. I will be home then, promise. As soon as I get that diploma in my hand, I'm in a car on the way to La Push."

After my brother ran off to "find himself" as my dad puts it, my father has been living alone and it wasn't working out for him.

"Good, I miss having you around here, even if you won't be living here."

"I'm sorry, Dad. It is really hard for me to be in that house without Mom there…" my voice dying off.

"It's okay, I understand. I will see you tomorrow, sweetheart."

"Bye, Dad." I hung up my cell phone and tossed it onto my bed. Glancing around the room, I looked for anything else that needed packed up. Tomorrow I would get my diploma quickly and get home to my new apartment. La Push Reservation High School offered me a job as an English teacher, starting next school year, so I was moving back home.

This is good, I reminded myself. La Push is my home; maybe if I go back, Jake will come back. If Jake comes back, then Dad will stop worrying, then I will stop worrying. I shook my head and pulled back the sheet on my bare bed, having already packed the comforter. Tomorrow I would be home.

--

Having the last name Black worked out. By eight that night I was pulling into my old driveway, waving to my dad through the window.

"Rachel!" my dad exclaimed.

"Hi dad," I kissed him lightly on the cheek, causing him to smile brightly. I knew he wasn't like this with Jacob, but being one of Daddy's little girls caused him to become a different person around me and my sister.

"Come in, Rach, the games about to start." He said, maneuvering into the living room where the TV was blaring.

"Did you eat tonight, Dad?" I asked as he watched the game intently. Since Jake left, I knew he wasn't eating properly.

"Don't you worry about me, Rachel. I could lose some weight." He said smiling. "Sue Clearwater made lunch for me today."

I walked over and kissed him on the forehead. "I will make you something for dinner then."

He frowned. "You just got here, I don't want you to feel like you have to cook for me."

"Dad, I want to cook for you." I walked into the old kitchen and opened the freezer. "You have a frozen pizza, how does that sound?" It was barely what I called cooking for him, but he would appreciate it.

I pulled the wrapping off the pizza and jumped when the phone started to ring.

"Will you grab that, Rach?" my dad yelled as he screamed at some athlete on the TV.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone.

"Uh, is Billy there?" a confused voice asked.

"Yep, may I ask who's calling?"

"This is Sam Uley," he said calmly.

"Dad, Sam Uley is on the phone."

A half hour later, I sat in his living room, talking happily with my dad while he ate the pizza.

"I think you're brother might be coming home soon…"

My ears perked up. "Really? When?"

"Sam said he heard he was coming in tonight," my dad said smiling.

"Wow, great timing." I smiled back at my dad. "Two out of three kids coming home ain't bad, right?" He nodded happily. "I wonder why he's coming home now…"

"I'll bet it has something to do with Bella Swan's wedding next weekend," he said quietly.

"Bella Swan is getting married! To who?" I asked loudly. The Bella I remember wasn't much older than Jake. She was only about eighteen if I remembered right.

If I hadn't been watching my dad's face, I would have missed the grimaced that passed along it quickly. "His names Edward Cullen. His dad's the doctor up at Forks."

"The one who helped Jake last year-?"

"Did I hear my name?" Jacob walked slowly into the room with a small smile on his face.

"Jake! You got so tall!" I jumped up and hugged my little brother. "Where have you been?"

He grinned at me before glancing knowingly at my dad. "Around. I heard you were coming home, and decided that I should probably get back too, for a little while at least."

My dad's face fell slightly. "You're not staying?"

"I'm gonna play it by ear. Do I smell pizza?"

I nodded and pointed towards the kitchen. Jake came back with the rest of the food, and a bag of chips. "Dad, I was talking to Sam and he said we were all getting together tomorrow at the beach."

My dad nodded. "He did mention that to me. Would you like to come with us, Rachel? We would all love to have you."

"Yeah, sure. I'm not moving into the new apartment until Monday when it opens up, so that should work out."

Jacob finished off the pizza and moved onto inhaling the chips. "Which apartments are you moving into?"

"The ones by First Beach, and don't talk with your mouth full, you won't get any girls that way."

Jacob and my dad laughed. "You are so much like mom," Jacob said quietly as he smiled at me, my dad nodding in agreement.

I looked down. My mom was a touchy subject for me. "We should call Becca," I said quickly, changing the subject. I pulled out my phone and dialed my twin sister.

"Hello?" my sister's voice rang out over the speakerphone.

"Becca!" Jacob yelled into the phone.

"Jake! Is that you? I heard you were soul searching."

"We're all here Becca," my dad said quietly into the phone.

"Oh, Daddy, don't you try to guilt trip me into coming home. You've got more than enough company there with you. I know Rachie is there, even though she hasn't said hi yet."

I grinned. "I wanted to give the evil twin a chance to talk to her family before I got to her."

"Ha. Just because I'm not the smart twin doesn't mean I'm the evil twin." I heard her laugh quietly. "I miss you all so much. I really would come home if I could."

"When are you coming home, honey?"

"When one of those two gets married, that's when," I could almost hear her smiling on the other side of the phone when she heard my dad groan.

"That could be forever, Rebecca," my dad said jokingly.

"Hey you guys, I have to go to bed. Some of us have to work tomorrow… I love you three with all my heart."

"Bye, Becks," Jacob said happily.

"Love you," dad said quietly.

I turned off the speakerphone and held the phone up to my ear. "Don't hang up yet, I'm going outside."

"Oh, we see how it is, you go have your secret conversation," Jacob said, sticking out his tongue.

I rolled my eyes and walked out to the small porch, sitting on the top step leading up to the house. "Becca?"

"Hey, Rach. I'm glad you guys called. How are you holding up in the house?"

I sighed. "It's so hard to be here. I keep thinking she's going to come in from hanging up laundry, or walk in the door after work…"

"I know, honey. It's only two days though, you can do it."

Staring at the forest around me, I sighed again. Even if La Push was my home, that didn't make it any easier to be here. "I don't know, Rebecca. If I didn't get offered that job, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Well, you are, so make the most of it, dear."

I laughed. "Always so understanding."

She chuckled too. "I really do have to get going though, call me again tomorrow."

"Will do, later." I heard the phone click and I snapped my phone shut too. Taking one last breath of the fresh Washington air, I went back inside to my family.

Dad and Jake were sitting in the living room, quietly discussing something. "Now who's having secret conversations?" I said jokingly, falling on the couch next to my brother.

Jacob grinned. "I'm excited for the beach tomorrow, I've missed everyone. Especially Embry and Quil."

"Well, kids. I'm old and tired, and my bed is calling me." My dad moved towards his room. "You two have no clue how happy I have to have you home with me." He smiled once more before going into his room and shutting the door.

Jake sighed as he draped his arm around me. "I've missed you, sis."

"I've missed you too, Jake. Speaking of that," I said hesitantly. "I'm not buying your story. Where were you? Why did you leave?"

My brother's face dropped. "It was too hard to be here with everything that was going on…"

"What was going on?" I persisted.

Jake pulled his arm back and put his head in his hands. "I can't tell— " I stared at him. "Okay, okay. There was a girl." I smiled at him, nodding my head. "He boyfriend left her, and she lost it. She came to me. I fell for her, hard. Then her boyfriend came back and it was like nothing happened. Like he never left. Then I got an invitation to her wedding to the guy and… I couldn't be here." He looked better now that he got it off his chest, but it didn't seem like he was telling me the whole truth.

"And you're attending this wedding next weekend?" I asked quietly

"She's my best friend, I would feel awful if I missed it," he said slowly.

"If you need anything, let me know, Jake." He nodded and smiled. "I'm gonna head to bed too." I kissed him on the forehead and walked into my old room.

Six long hours later, I was sitting at the small dining room table, reading the newspaper and sipping from a large cup of coffee.

"I thought I smelled coffee," my dad said as he came into the room. "It's pretty early, Rach. What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep." I said quietly as I read about a murder in Seattle.

My dad sighed. "I know it's hard, honey. I'm sorry."

I smiled slightly. "It's nothing dad, don't worry about it."

"Your mother would be so proud of you," he said, eyes shimmering.

"Dad…"

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like talking about her." I nodded and went back to reading the paper.

At around noon, I walked into my room and pulled my bathing suit out of my suitcase. The white fabric of the suit made my russet skin seem even darker.

"Dad, I'm going to head to the beach early, catch up on some reading." My dad looked up and smiled as I walked out the door.

Walking out onto the beach was calming. After my night of tossing and turning in that small bed, I needed this. The ocean was something that I could look at and be relaxed instantly. When my mom first died, I spent hours here, just sitting.

I slowly headed towards the water, not paying much attention to anything when I was stopped.

"Whoa, sorry," a man turned around and looked down at me. He was as tall as Jacob, which surprised me. His expression confused me. It was like he was being released of every burden in the world. Like I was the only thing holding him down.

I brushed a hair behind my ear. "It's alright, I ran into you."

"I'm Paul," he said as he reached out to shake my hand.

I took it and jumped slightly at his warmth. "Rachel."

"You are really beautiful, Rachel." Paul whispered as he continued to look down at me. I blushed, not knowing what to say. "Do you want to come with me? Some of my friends are meeting in about thirty minutes."

"Are you Jake's friend?" I asked.

His eyes widened. "You're Jacob's sister, Rachel? That Rachel?" I nodded. "He's going to kill me."

I laughed. "Why would you get that impression?"

Paul shook his head. "No reason. Do you want to go for a walk before we have to go back?" He asked, making it seem like he never wanted to join his friends.

"Sure," I smiled at him, looking at his face closely for the first time. Paul was very attractive. His dark skin shined in the sun, contrasting with his beautiful white smile. "Are you Jacob's age?"

He shook his head. "I'm a little older than Jake."

Good, I thought, I didn't want to feel like a pedophile. We walked for a while, Paul asking me about all my favorite things. Color-green. Hobby-reading. Food-Hot Dogs. The food one made his smile, saying that he loved hot dogs too.

After our walk, I too didn't want to return to the party. I was having a lot of fun with Paul, and I didn't want it to end.

Someone had set up tents and as we slowly approached, I saw Jacob glaring at Paul. He dropped what he was holding and started walking quickly towards us. Two other boys looked up at Paul and he grinned at them before looked back to Jake.

"Dude, Jake, I didn't mean to. You can't help these things, I'm sorry man." Paul said as he walked in front of me, as if to shield me from my brother.

"Jake, I don't see what the big deal is, we just went on a walk," I said quickly, trying to calm my, now shaking, brother down.

He continued to glare at Paul and before either of us got another word out, Jake had punched Paul in the nose.

**Read and Review. It is a little weak right now, but it will get better, promise! **

**Maddi :)**


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything.

Chapter 9

"Jacob!" I screamed as Paul fell to the ground. "Are you crazy?" I glared at him once more before kneeling next to Paul, who's nose was flowing with blood.

Paul held his nose, smiling slightly as the blood trickled down his face. "It's alright, Rachel. Don't worry about me."

My eyes widened. "It is not alright! He punched you in the face, Paul. For no good reason," I glared at Jacob again. He looked pleased with the damage he had done. "Plus, I think your nose is broken."

"I'm fine. Look, it already stopped bleeding," He removed his hands from his face to show me. "Please stop worrying," he gazed at me again smiling again.

I shook my head. "Let me help you clean it up." Walking up to a picnic table, I looked for some napkins and a bottle of water.

I heard Jacob clear his throat as he tossed the water to me. Catching it easily, I scowled at him. "What the hell is your problem, Jake?"

"You don't get it, Rach."

I rolled my eyes. "Enlighten me, then." He shook his head and walked over to the fire Embry Call was building. I shook my head and returned to Paul, who was watching me, still smiling.

"You feeling better?" I asked as I sat in front of Paul, pouring some water onto a napkin.

He grinned. "I'm better now that you're back." Blushing, I lifted the napkin to his face, gently wiping the blood off his skin. The more blood I cleaned off, the more confused I got. "What's wrong?" Paul asked, sounding genuinely worried.

"No-nothing." I lightly turned his head from side to side. "It's just, I broke my nose once and I had bruises for weeks."

Paul's eyes widened. "How did you break your nose? You're okay now, right?"

I waved my hand, "Oh yeah, I think I was fourteen when it happened. Jake pushed me off the cliffs before I was ready and I smacked my knee off my nose." Paul's eyes narrowed and his hands started shaking.

"Hey, it's cool, I got him back," I said, grabbing his hand in an attempt to calm him down.

His angry eyes visibly relaxed when he felt our contact. "Thank you for cleaning me up."

"I-It's no problem," stuttering as he pulled away from me.

Paul grinned again. "Let's get some food before they eat it all." I nodded and walked up the to where the rest of the party was sitting around a fire.

Jacob sent Paul another dirty look as we sat down on a log across the fire from him.

"How's your face, Paul?" my dad asked, grinning at him.

Paul grinned back. It seemed like they were having a conversation with their eyes. "It's great now that Rachel cleaned me up." He then smirked at Jacob. "Besides, Jake's too much of a girl to do any real damage."

Jake stood up, shaking again. Sam watched him and rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Jacob. He was kidding."

I rolled my eyes at Jacob and turned to my dad. "Do you want me to make a hot dog for you, Dad?"

"Rachel, will you please stop worrying about me. Have some fun, get to know the boys," he said smiling.

"So, Rachel, how long are you sticking around?" Sam asked as he wrapped his arm around Emily.

I shrugged. "If this teaching job works out, I'm here for good." Glancing at Paul, he seemed to look relieved. "What about you guys, what do you do?"

An awkward silence fell over the bon fire. "Uh, Quil and I help Jacob with cars sometimes," Embry said, speaking up for the first time.

I nodded. "That's cool. Jake always was a little grease monkey."

Jake grinned. "You're the brains, I'm the braun, and Becks is the beauty. Which works out pretty well for you, since you two are twins."

I gave him a small smile, still mad at him for punching Paul. "Becca has street smarts."

"All three of you are smart and good looking. Jake does take the braun category though," Dad said chuckling.

We fell into a comfortable conversation, laughing at stories my dad told, when Paul nudged my side.

"Wanna take a walk?"

I glanced at my brother, who was currently wrestling with Quil in the sand and nodded with a smile. Paul grinned and helped me up from my seat. His hot hand reminding me of Jacob's warm hug last night.

"So how old are you?" I asked, curiosity taking over.

Paul scratched the back of his neck. "I'll be nineteen next month."

I inwardly groaned. It wasn't much older than Jake, making it strange for me to be attracted to him. Then again, I am only twenty-one, only two years older than he is. My dad was five years younger than my mom, so this wasn't all that weird.

"Jake said you graduated college early, you must be really smart," Paul said, striking up a conversation.

I shrugged. "I took summer classes, and AP during high school. It's not that I'm smart, I just like to learn." I looked up to see him grinning. "I'm a nerd, you can say it," I laughed as he shook his head.

"You're not a nerd. I think it's really cool that you are determined enough to finish college early. I mean, I barely finished high school."

"Thanks, I think it's really cool that my little brother punched you in the nose and you still want to hang out with me," I said grinning.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a punch from Jake to get me to stop hanging around you."

My face burned as I tried to hide the grin on my face. He smiled after noticing the small grin on my face. "Are you busy tomorrow?" he asked quietly.

"No- wait, yes. I am moving into my apartment tomorrow," I said, trying not to sound as sad as I felt. Maybe Paul would be one of Jake's friends that was going to help me move in.

"Oh- well, would you want any help with that?" he asked sounding hopeful.

"I would love that," I said almost too quickly.

Paul grinned and hesitantly draped his arm around my shoulder. "I would love that too."

--

The next morning at six thirty, I sat at the table with my cup of coffee reading the newspaper.

Jacob stumbled in, falling into the chair next to me, which groaned under his weight. "Why do we have to up a the crack of dawn just so you can move in?"

I took another sip of my coffee and looked up at him. "The sun has been up for an hour now, it is no longer the crack of dawn. Good morning Jacob."

My dad came in a few minutes later, smiling as I poured him his own cup of coffee. "Good morning, guys. How did you sleep?" I looked up at him, thinking back to last night. Sleeping wasn't an option in this house for me. I spent my night reading _My Sister's Keeper_ by Jodi Picoult for the third time. "Rach?"

"Oh, I slept good, never better," I said quickly. Jake's head snapped up and he mouthed 'liar' and smirked at me.

"Good, good. What time did you tell your friends to get here, Jake?" my dad asked cheerfully.

Jacob looked up again. "Quil and Embry-"

"And Paul," I said, interrupting him.

"I never told Paul about it," Jake said as he stared at me.

"I invited him. Is that alright?" I asked quietly as I finished off my coffee.

Jacob scoffed. "Whatever, it's your apartment. Anyway, Quil, Embry, and _Paul_ will be coming at seven, like you requested. I can't promise they will be happy campers, especially Paul." I shrugged and went back to reading the paper.

Twenty minutes later I heard a knock on the door and hopped up to answer it. I swung it open to find Paul standing in front of Quil and Embry who were both half asleep. "Hey, Rachel. Ready to move?" Paul asked eagerly.

I grinned up at him. Jake trudged out of the house, giving Paul a strange look as he passed him.

"I just have to say good bye to Dad, then we can head out." I said as I turned back into the house. My dad was reading the newspaper in the kitchen when I walked in. I leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll be back over tonight, Daddy. Thank's for letting me stay a few nights."

He smiled sadly up at me. "Thank you for staying here with me and your brother. We miss you, Rach. And I know it is hard for you to stay here." He grabbed my hand softly. "We all miss her everyday, sweetie."

My throat tightened. "Right, I have to go now. I love you, Dad." I kissed him once more before running out of the house. I opened the front door to find Paul shoved up against his truck and Jacob pulling his fist back to hit him.

"Jacob! What the hell?" I screamed. Jake looked over to me and took a step back from Paul, who's body relax when he saw me. He was smiling at me, even though my psycho little brother was just about to hit him, again.

"What is going on?" I said running up to the group of boys.

"Nothing, it's nothing," Jake said quickly.

I glanced at the other boy's faces, all were looking down, except Paul who was still grinning at me.

Embry looked up breifly. "Just guy stuff, Rachel. Don't worry about it."

"Whatever, you two go with Jake, I'm going with Paul," I said pointing to Jacob's car.

Jacob's eye's widened. "No, you should come with me."

"Nah, you have been acting pretty violent lately, I think I'm safer with Paul," I said smirking at him.

Jake growled. "He's the one with the short fuse, Rach." He pointed at Paul who finally broke away from his trance.

"Really? Because in the three whole days I've been here, you have been the one picking all the fights, Jake. Now go. The moving truck will be here at quarter after."

He glared at me and Paul then turned around and quickly started walking to his car. I heard Quil saying something about Paul not being able to help it, and that I would be safe with him.

"What's Quil talking about?" I asked Paul after he walked around to get in his truck.

He looked up at me. "Uh, I didn't hear him. Where is the address?" He asked quickly changing the topic.

"305 Maple Way." He nodded and turned left onto the main road. "So why doesn't Jake like you?"

"He-uh- he doesn't like that I like you so much after only meeting you once," he said quietly. My heart jumped in my chest. Paul liked me? I grinned at the thought. "But, I mean, if that's too much... I don't want to push things."

"No, it's okay." I said grinning. "Oh there it is." I pointed to a small building that held four apartments in it. "Let's get moving." I smiled at him one more time before getting out of his truck and skipping to my new home.

**So here's chapter two! I loved all the reviews! 17 reviews!! oh my god, I love that you guys are into my story already!!**

**Thank you so so so so much to everyone who reviewed, I love you guys.**

**Keep it up! read and review!**

I love you so much! Maddi!


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything

Chapter 3

"Why couldn't you hire movers like a normal person, Rachel?" Jacob whined as he helped Quil carry in my new, large suede couch.

I rolled my eyes and pulled another pan out of a cardboard box marked 'kitchen' and placed it in the cupboard. "Because I love the sound of your voice when you're complaining, Jake."

Jacob stuck his tongue out at me and trudged out the door to retrieve another piece of furniture. Embry laughed as he pilled another box next to the window. The boys were bringing in all the heavy boxes and large pieces of furniture and I was unloading everything from those boxes.

"Hey, Rachel, where should I put this?" Paul called in from what was to be my bedroom. He had gone in a half an hour ago to put by bed together, refusing to allow me to help him. I had watched him single-handedly carry all the pieces into my room in order to assemble it all.

I skipped back to my room and stopped when I reached the door. "Your done putting it together already?" I asked him as I glanced into the room.

Paul grinned and nodded. "It's not rocket science." My eyes widened when I saw he had shed his t-shirt. "Now where should I put it?"

I tore my eye's away from his chiseled body and stared at him. "Sorry, what?" He smiled again. Dang, he caught me staring at him.

"The bed... where should I put it?" he asked again, his grin growing as he stared at me.

"Oh, right." I looked around the room and pointed to the window. "You can place the headboard at the windowsill. Do you need help? I can get Jake." He waved his hand and picked up the large, queen-sized bed and moved it across the room to where I asked him to place it. "Whoa, muscles. Do you work out?" I asked quickly before thinking. Wow, did I really just ask him that? Paul would look great on my bed...

Paul chuckled. "Nah, work with Sam is enough of a workout for me." His voice snapped me out of my trance and he walked over to me and sighed as he looked down at me.

"What?" I asked as I glanced up at him. "Is something wrong?" I ran my hand through my messy hair, trying to straighten it slightly

He smiled at shook his head. "Nothing. You're just so beautiful." Paul sighed again as his eyes traveled over my body.

My heart melted and I opened my mouth to respond when Jacob knocked on the door.

"This house isn't gonna move in by itself, people," he said sounding annoyed. I rolled my eyes and smiled at Paul as I slowly returned to the kitchen, pushing into Jacob on my way out of the room.

"I heard that beautiful comment. Remember what I said," I heard Jake say to Paul, attempting to sound threatening. Leaning towards the bedroom, I tried to eavesdrop on more of their conversation.

"Jake, you can cause me as much physical pain as you want, but I'm not going anywhere," Paul said calmly. "You just don't understand. I love being around her, and as much pain as you can do to me, it will hurt that much worse for me to even try to stay away from her. I can't not be near her."

My jaw dropped, unfortunately, so did the pan I was holding. The heavy skillet landed on my foot and I fell to the ground.

Before I got the chance to cry out, Paul was by my side. "What happened? Are you okay?" His brown eye's scanned over my foot, which was turning a nice shade of black-and-blue. "Rachel, say something. Does it hurt?" he asked, his voice filled with worry.

"I love being around you too," I said quietly as I looked into his eyes. I heard someone groan, probably Jacob, in the background, but I was too focused on Paul to care. His eyes softened and he reached up to brush a hair away from my face. "And yeah, it does hurt."

Paul grinned before picking me up and placing me on the counter. "Quil, will you go ask one of the neighbors for a bag of ice?"

Quil nodded and moved towards the door. "Wait, Quil." I watched as the boy immediately stopped and turned to Jacob. "Why can't you go get it, Paul?" Jake asked, crossing his arms.

Paul stared at him. "Does it matter? She is in pain, she needs ice. Quil was closest to the door."

"It's not a big deal, I am closest to the door, Jake," Quil said. "Can I go get the ice now?" I watched as Jacob's eyes shifted from Paul to Quil.

"Okay, I'm putting up a strong front right now, but this really hurts. If you can't decide who is going to get ice, then I can get it myself," I said as tears from the pain started to fill my eyes.

Jacob shook his head. "Whatever, get the ice, Quil. Embry, help me get the rest of this stuff, then we're out of here." He darted out the front door, Embry rolled his eyes and followed Jacob.

Paul turned to me and placed his warm hand on the side of my face. "How are ya holding up?" I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at the ground, not wanting to show that I was crying. "Hey, Rach, look at me." I sniffed and glanced up at him, a tear slipping from my eye. "You are so gorgeous, you know that, right?"

I choked out a laugh. "Right, I bet I look great," I said as I wiped another tear from my face.

"You have no idea," Paul whispered as he tilted my head up towards his. I closed my eyes as he started to lean down to me.

"Hey-" Quil ran in with a zip-lock bag of ice. He grinned when he saw us quickly pull apart. "I, uh, I got that ice for ya."

He tossed the bag to Paul whole gently placed it on my bruised foot. "How's that?" Paul asked quietly.

"It's great, thanks Paul," I said smiling as he held the ice on my foot.

"Anything for you," he smiled at me again.

"Where do you want the T.V. Rachel?" Jake asked loudly, again ruining the moment between Paul and I.

"In the corner on the entertainment stand," I answered, never taking my eye's off Paul, who continued to stare back at me.

I heard him put the television down and hook it up the the cable in the wall. "The rest is all boxes, which you said you wanted to do by yourself, so we're gonna head out."

I nodded and turned to him and his two friends for the first time. "Thanks, guys, you were a huge help." They all nodded and turned towards the door.

"You coming, Paul?" Embry asked quietly.

Paul glanced at me and I smiled at him. "Nah, I'm gonna hang out around here for a while, I'll be back before my shift starts." Embry nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

"Wanna try walking?" Paul said as he threw the bag of ice into my freezer.

I nodded. "Just don't let me fall."

Paul smiled brightly and helped me onto the floor. "I would never, ever let you fall." I wrapped my arm comfortably around his hips as he held me up. "Put some pressure on it. We'll do this slowly."

I nodded and placed my sore foot on the ground lightly. Looking up at Paul, he smiled encouragingly. Carefully taking a step, I winced as pain shot through my foot. Paul noticed immediately and lifted me up into his arms. "Too soon?" he asked as he held me.

I shook my head. "It hurt, but I need to be able to walk on it." He nodded and gently placed me back on the ground. I took a step and winced again. Paul, like before, scooped me up into his arm's, cradling me close to his chest. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Sorry, it's a reflex," he said shyly. "I promise I won't pick you up again."

I grinned at him and rested my head on his shoulder, suddenly feeling brave. "It's alright, I sort of like it here."

"Really?" he asked, sounding surprised. Wrapping his arms tighter around me, he sighed in relief. "Good, because I sort of like it here too."

My heart melted again, Paul was beginning to have that effect on me. I glanced at the clock, it was one thirty. "Hey are you hungry?"

His body sagged slightly. "I thought you would never ask."

I laughed loudly. "I can order a pizza or three if you want, I know you boys like to eat."

"Pizza sounds awesome. I have some money..." He said. Placing me on the counter lightly, he fishing around in the jeans of his pockets.

I held up my hand to stop him. "You helped me move in today, think of this as your payment." He went to protest but I shook my head. "Nope, I'm paying, that's that. What kind do you like?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever kind you want. I will eat anything."

I nodded. "Alright. We will get one cheese, one cheese and pepperoni, and one Hawaiian." I reached over to grab the phone, dialing the number I had memorized from high school.

"What's Hawaiian?" Paul asked as he leaned against the counter next to me.

"It has ham and pineapple, it is delicious, trust me." I ordered the pizza and hung up the phone, smiling at Paul as he watched me.

"Pineapple? On pizza, I'll have to try it," Paul said, grinning at me.

"It's my favorite. When I was in high school, my sister and I would order an extra large Hawaiian pizza and eat the whole thing with Mom..." my voice died off at the memory. I remembered sitting at the dining room table one week, laughing, eating the pizza, then the next week sitting in a hospital room, staring at the tubes running through my mother's body.

Paul scratched the back of his neck. "Jake told me about your mom..."

My eye's snapped up to his. "Right, hey will you grab my wallet out of my purse, it's sitting on the stool by the island." He nodded and walked away, returning seconds later.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly. Paul must have noticed that a nerve was hit when I remembered my mom.

"Yeah, I'm great," I said quietly, not even convincing myself. A knock at the door broke me from my trance. "Wow, that was fast, will you go get that? Have them keep the change." Paul nodded and went to get the pizza at the door. I sighed, thankful for the interruption.

Paul came back, all smiles. "Alright, let's try this pizza." I carefully hopped off the counter, landing cleanly on my uninjured foot and jumped over to the table. "Whoa, need help?" he said quickly as he watched me hobble across the kitchen. He got up from his seat to help me, but I waved him off.

"Nope, I'm good. Let's eat this pizza," I grinned at him once more before digging in.

**I'm trying to update quicker because the first chapter took me so so long to update. So here is chapter three! **

**I didn't get nearly as many reviews for chapter two as I did for chapter one but that is totally alright because six is still pretty awesome for me.**

**Thank you so much for everyone who did review, I really appreciate it. Keep up the awesome work with the reviewing**

read and review! i love it!

**Maddddi**


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own anything

Chapter 4

"How's my favorite pedophile?" my sisters chipper voice rang loudly through my cell phone.

I rolled my eyes. "Rebecca, he is nineteen. You know that is legal, right?"

"It's still funny, Rach. I mean, he's one of Jacob's friends," Rebecca said again, laughing into the phone. "Is he, like, still in school? Because this is a porno waiting to happen."

I rolled my eyes. "No, he just graduated from high school. I'm about to hang up the phone, Becks."

"Awh, you two could throw a joint graduation party! You graduating from college... him from high school..." Rebecca said, still mocking me.

"Goodbye, Rebecca," I said as I pushed the end button on my cordless phone. I fell back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling.

I jumped up when I heard a knock on the door. "Rachel! You said you would help me find a suit for Bella's wedding!"

"I'm right here, spaz. Let's go," I grabbed my purse and swung the door shut behind me. Jake got into the passenger side of my car.

"I don't have much money, Rach..." Jacob said quietly as he opened his small leather wallet.

I patted his warm hand. "Don't worry, we'll be bargain shopping today, besides I can help you out if you need some extra cash."

"Rachel, I don't want to-"

I turned the car onto the highway headed towards Port Angeles. "You helped me move into my house, if you need some money, think of it as a thank you."

"I don't know, Rachel..." Jared said glancing at me.

"Jake, all you really need is pants and a button up shirt. It's won't cost all that much," I said as I got off at the Port Angeles exit. "Let's worry about the price when we get there, kay?" Jacob nodded and stared out the window. "Have you seen the girl since you got back?" Jacob slowly shook his head. "Jacob! Are you just going to show up?"

"Uh... yeah," Jake said quietly.

I shook my head. "You're too much, Jacob."

Jake shrugged. "I guess I'm just gonna surprise her." I turned into the parking lot of the Port Angeles Mall and parked my car. "What store are we going to here? Aren't they all expensive?"

"Any store is a bargain store if you look in the right place, Jake."

Jake laughed and rolled his eyes. "Lead the way."

I walked next to my brother into the large Macy's and looped arms with him to take him to the clearance section of the store. I started looking through a rack of dress pants that would be good for Jacob. "What size pants to you wear, Jake?"

"Uh, large?" Jake said, scratching the back of his neck.

I stared at him. "You don't know what size pants you wear?"

"Sorry?" Jake said as he looked at me.

I rolled my eyes and pulled the two largest pairs of pants from the rack. "Try these on, we'll guess and check our way to buying you pants, Jake." He smirked and grabbed the pants from my hands and walked to the dressing room.

He came out a few minutes later and stood in front of me. "How are these?" he asked, turning around in a circle for me.

"They look fine, how do they feel?"

"Itchy." He said as he pulled on the pants. "But other than that, they feel fine."

I grinned. "Well, they are supposed to be itchy. And they are only fifteen dollars, which is a really good deal."

Jake nodded. "Where are the shirts?" I pointed to the corner of the room and Jacob followed me over to look through the button up shirts.

"What color were you thinking?" I asked as I ran my hands over the shirts. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket as Jacob shrugged. "Hang on." Looking down at the ID, I saw Paul was calling me and I smiled.

"Hey," I said, still smiling.

"Hey, Rach. What are you doing, maybe we could get a late lunch..." Paul said into the phone, I could tell he was smiling to with the tone of his voice.

I looked at Jacob who was holding up a pink shirt with a smirk on his face and rolled my eyes. "I'm helping my brother get clothes for Bella Swan's wedding. So lunch is out, what about dinner?"

"Is that Paul?" Jake asked loudly and I nodded. He groaned and went back to looking at shirts.

"Dinner works for me. How about seven?" Paul asked hopefully.

"I will see you then." Jake stared at me telling me that he was annoyed. "I've got to go, Jake is getting impatient."

Paul laughed, "alright, I will see you tonight," he said hanging up the phone.

"Okay, which one do you like?" I asked Jake.

He shrugged. "Are you guys, like, dating?" he asked as he pretended to inspect a shirt.

"Not officially, but it's probably heading that way," I said quietly. He rolled his eyes again and pulled out a blue shirt.

"I like this one, let's go home." He said walking away from me.

"Jacob, wait, you have to try it on," I said quietly. He turned back and glared at me. "Jake, what? Why do you disapprove so much about Paul?"

He sighed. "He- before he met you, he had a really short fuse. He gets mad at anything, even little stupid things like getting the last hot dog, he would freak out. I just don't trust him with my sister." Jake said quietly from inside the dressing room.

I smiled. "That's sweet, Jake, but even you said that was before me. Maybe I calmed him down a little bit."

"Do they have any other sizes, Rach? The sleeves are way too short."

"No, that was an extra-large. Let me see," I stood up from my chair as Jake came out of the dressing room. I laughed at what I saw. Everything except the sleeves seemed to fit fine. It seemed a little tight in the chest area but it wasn't that bad, but the sleeves were another story. They ended in the middle of his forearm. "Geez, Jake, when did you get so big. Here, let me try something." I gathered up the bottom of the sleeve and rolled it until it reached his elbow.

"Hey, that doesn't look bad," Jake said, looking at himself in the mirror. "You're pretty good at this, Rach." He glanced at the price tag. "Twenty dollars, not bad."

"Sure, sure. Let's go to Payless. I know for a fact that you do not have dress shoes," I said as we walked over to the register.

"I have fifteen dollars left. Will shoes cost more than that?" Jake asked as he looked in his wallet.

"Maybe, but I have money, so don't worry about it," I said, leading him out to the mall.

Jake pulled on a pair of shoes. "How are these?"

"They look great. And they are only twenty-five," I said checking the price. Jake slipped his sneakers back on and walked up to the register. I handed him a ten dollar bill, which he took painfully.

"Thanks, Rachel," he said quietly.

"No problem, Jake. You helped me move in, it's the least I could do," I said patting him on the back.

"Well let's get you home. It's two now, and you have a date." Jake said shaking his head.

I nodded and followed him as he walked towards the exit.

--

Hours later I was sitting on my porch waiting for Paul. I checked my watch again after chipping off the remainder of the nail polish that was on my thumb. He was a half hour late and I was getting worried.

I breathed a sigh of relief when his truck turned into my driveway. Paul jumped out of the car and ran towards me. "I am so sorry, please don't hate me. You hate me don't you?"

I grinned. "Paul, I could never ever hate you." His body sagged in relief. "You want to get going?"

He nodded. "Yeah, lets go," he said grabbing my hand slowly, as if he was nervous I would pull away. My fingers wrapped around his comfortably as he led me back to his truck. He politely opened the door for me and helped me into his vehicle before moving around to the other side.

"So, where to?" I asked as he started up his truck.

He scratched his head nervously. "I actually made a picnic for us. I was thinking we could go down to First Beach."

My heart jumped in my chest. "Awesome." I said smiling widely at him.

He parked his truck in the lot next to the beach and pulled a picnic basket out of the bed of his truck. Paul grabbed onto my hand again and led me out onto the sandy beach.

"So, what did you make for us?" I asked as I peered into the basket.

"I brought Pepsi and I cut up some fruit for us. I also made, this may shock you, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," Paul said, pulling them out as he described them.

I laughed loudly. "You are quite the chef, my dear." Paul smiled at me again almost looking sad, staring at me as if it were the last time he was going to ever see me. "A penny for your thoughts?" I said as I took a piece of apple out of the fruit salad he made.

He glanced away from me. "It sort of as to do with why I was late," Paul said quietly, his body tensing up.

I moved closer to him, trying to calm him down. "What's up?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Paul threw me a small smile. "I was talking to Sam and he said" he groaned, "this is harder than I thought it would be," Paul ran his hands through his hair nervously.

I pulled his hand onto my lap. "It's okay. What are you afraid of?"

He looked in my eyes sadly. "I'm terrified of losing you. We aren't even officially dating yet... I can't lose you."

I frowned. "You don't have to worry about me leaving, Paul." I scooted closer to him and placed my head on his shoulder. "And if you want to make this official... just say the words." I looked up at him and grinned.

"I would love to make it official, but I have something I have to tell you first, and I don't know how it's gonna work out," Paul said sadly.

"Tell me anything, I'm not going anywhere, I promise." I said holding out my small pinkie finger. Paul granted me a small grin before pulling my hand up to his lips and placing a small kiss on the back of it. "You're suppose to link your pinkie with mine, silly."

"I don't want you to promise something when you don't know all the details"

I looked up at him. "You're starting to scare me. Jake said you had a short fuse before we met, did you, like, attack someone?"

Paul shook his head wildly. "No, nothing like that, I swear."

I stared at him, waiting. "Well then what is it?"

"I'm a werewolf."

**There it is. A bit of a cliff hanger... sorry it took so long to update, I was having trouble at the beginning but once it started flowing, it didn't take very long.**

**I thought I would add some family stuff in the beginning, so let me know if you like that.**

**I got a lot more reviews this time! Thank you so much, they mean the world to me.**

**If you haven't already, check out my other story All My Loving. It's a Kim/Jared story and a lot of people like it, myself included! lol I love it. sorry about the advertising haha**

**Her reaction will obviously be next chapter, so look forward to that! yay!**

**I love you guys!!**

**MainlyMaddi**


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own anything

Chapter 5

I stared at him and he stared at me. We were both waiting for the other to say something. I was waiting for him to start to laugh and say 'just kidding, Rach. It was a test I do with all hopeful girlfriends.' It seemed like he was waiting for me to hit him, or yell at him.

But instead of saying anything, I started to choke on the strawberry I had just placed in my mouth. My eye's teared up as I started to cough. Paul jumped over to me and patted on my back as the fruit flew from my mouth.

"W-what was that?" I asked as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

Paul checked me over with worry in his eyes. "Promise you won't choke again?"

"No." I said bluntly. "Not if you tell me you're a werewolf again."

"Rachel, I don't want to lie to you," he said quietly as he took my hands in his.

"Then why are you? Werewolves aren't real, Paul." I said, my anger levels beginning to rise. "Monster's like that do not exist."

Paul ran his hands over his face. "Please don't be mad at me. We can't help what we are, but since I met you, I've started to really love what I am."

"We?" I asked quietly. "There are more 'werewolves'?"

He nodded slowly. "Embry, Quil, Sam, Jared," he paused and cleared his throat. "...Jacob."

My jaw dropped. "Jacob? As in my brother, Jacob?" I thought back to the first night I was home, Jake was unwilling to tell me the whole story about his running away.

Paul nodded again. "Jake is second in command to our pack. Sam is the alpha-"

"Pack? How far are you going to take this joke, Paul?" I stared at him, still waiting for him to laugh at his joke. His sad eyes stared at me, not moving from mine. "This is ridiculous." I started to stand from my place, but Paul gently pulled on my hand.

"Please, Rachel," Paul's voice pleaded with me, his eyes also begging for me to stay. "Please don't leave me."

"Just tell me you're kidding, Paul. I know this isn't real," I said quietly.

His large, sad eyes bored into mine. "I am not kidding, Rachel. I promise you."

I knew he wasn't joking. The emotion in his face told me that much. It was my own stubbornness that wouldn't allow me to believe it. "How?" I asked, my voice so small, that I barely heard.

"It's in my blood, our blood actually. Those stories that your dad tells about the Quileute legends..." Paul started. I nodded, telling him to go on. "It all goes back to that. The cold ones came and that's when the transformation's began. It's what caused us to start chang-"

"Wait, cold ones? Those legends are just stories, Paul." I said quietly. "Right?"

He shook his head. "They are real. I swear to you. The cold ones, they are vampires," my eye's widened and Paul pulled me closer to him. "We are here to protect the people from them. I'm here to protect you, Rachel."

"Will you take me home? To my dads house?" I asked him quietly. I could see his heart breaking as he nodded and I took his hand in mine. "I just want to talk to Jacob." His eye's still fell to the ground as he stuffed everything into the picnic basket. "Hey, Paul come here," Paul looked down to me and I wrapped my arms around his waist. "I promised I am not going anywhere, I just want to talk Jacob."

Paul sighed, looking slightly more relieved. "I understand, it's a lot to take in at once." He draped his arm over my shoulders as he led me back to his truck. Paul opened the passenger side door for me and helped me in, placing the basket in the back. "I hope this doesn't hurt what we have. Rachel, if you have any questions at all, I will tell you anything you need to know."

I nodded and smiled. I could tell he was worried about me wanting to talk to Jacob about the whole werewolf' ordeal, but I needed to clear things up with my family before I worried about my boyfriend. The thought caused me to grin. My boyfriend, even after dropping this bombshell on me, the notion of Paul becoming my significant other still brought a smile to my face.

Paul glanced over and grinned at me. "What?" he asked, commenting on my smile as he turned into my driveway.

"Nothing, I will call you tomorrow morning, okay?" Paul nodded and slowed the car to a stop. "Well, what time to you work? I don't want to wake you up."

He shook his head. "Anytime after nine is fine. I'll be waiting for your call," he said, his eyes watching me as I opened the door.

Paul's eyes still hadn't returned to the normal happiness that usually filled them. I quickly leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. He sighed happily, his entire face brightening with my simple action. "I will call you tomorrow, Paul."

"I can't wait," he said. I smiled again and waved as I shut the door. Paul was still grinning as he pulled out of my driveway.

"That didn't take long..." Jacob said from the doorway. "What are you doing here so early? Paul doesn't have to go to work until later."

"Paul told me a story, about the old stories Dad used to tell us." I watched Jacob to judge his reaction.

He shuffled his feet nervously. "Sure, sure. I, uh, remember the stories."

I walked up to the porch and sat on the stairs, Jacob followed my lead and sat down next to me. "Paul also told me he was a werewolf." Jake's head snapped up and his eyes met mine. "He said you were too."

Jacob nodded slowly. "I figured he would tell you eventually. I know he wasn't too excited about doing it though. I don't blame him."

"Why didn't you tell me, Jacob? Or Dad? Why didn't you guys tell me? Does Rebecca know?" I asked the questions quickly, suddenly angry that my family kept this huge secret from me.

"I couldn't tell you, neither could Dad. And Becca doesn't know," Jacob said, quickly firing back the answers .

"Why couldn't you tell me?"

"Sam is so set on "keeping the secret" he ordered us that we couldn't tell anyone. Not even our families. I'm on of the lucky ones, because Dad knows, and now you do. The only one we have to worry about is Becca." Jake said, sounding relieved that I now knew the secret he had been keeping.

"Paul was allowed to tell me about it... what's the difference?" I was still confused why Paul could tell me and my own flesh and blood weren't allowed.

"Since he imprinted on you, he doesn't need permission to tell you about us," Jake explained simply.

"Imprinting?"

"Oops," Jake said quietly. "He must not have told you about everything, then. I shouldn't be the one telling you about this. Paul will probably want to explain it all to you."

"Is it bad?" I asked quietly. I didn't know what I was getting into with this whole werewolf thing, I wanted to get as much as I could out of Jacob.

My brother shook his head. "No, it's apparently one of the great things about being what we are."

"So it hasn't happened to you?" my curiosity kept growing about imprinting and what it was.

"Nope," he said adding emphasis to the 'p', "not that I didn't try," he whispered under his breath.

"Okay, since I'm not getting much more out of you about that topic, what do you do when you go out so late at night to work?"

"We patrol La Push for vampires," he said as he brushed some dirt off his pants.

"What? That's what Paul is doing tonight?" Jacob nodded. "What if he get's hurt? Does he go alone? Do you go alone?"

"Chill out, Rach. He won't get hurt and no one goes alone," Jake said, trying to calm me down.

"How do you know he won't get hurt? You got hurt once, Dad told me. "Jake got hurt while he was working." Those were his exact words," I rambled quickly, my worry for Paul and my brother growing.

"It's actually kind of cool. When we do get hurt, we heal extremely fast. Wanna see?" Jake said excitedly, pulling a pocket knife from his jeans.

"No! I do not want to see! That is morbid, Jacob," I screamed at him as I grabbed the knife from his hands.

"Fine, you're missing out though," he said, yanking the pocket knife from my hand.

I rolled my eyes. "You will never change, Jake. You're sure that you guys are okay while your working?"

"Yup, it doesn't stop the other girls from freaking out though. Why do girls worry so much? Even when they know everyone will be okay."

I shrugged. "When the people you love are in any danger, it's hard not to worry."

"I don't get it, I guess." He leaned back against the side of the house. "Hey, Dad is inside if you want to let him know that you're in on the tribes biggest secret. I bet he will be relieved. He was having as hard of a time as I was with keeping it from you."

I nodded and stood up. "I'm glad I know now, Jake."

"Me too, Rach," he said as he followed me into the house.

--

I woke up at eight-thirty the next morning in my apartment. Jake had given me a ride home last night after we sat around the table talking about all that had happened in our small town in the past few years.

I took a long shower, wanting to waste away the half-hour I had until I could call Paul. After taking the shower, getting dressed, and cleaning up my small apartment, I glanced at the clock and saw it was quarter after nine. I didn't want to seem too desperate, but my excitement to see Paul took over and I picked up my phone.

"Hello?" voiced a very groggy Paul.

I chuckled slightly. "Did I wake you up?"

"Rachel? No, you didn't... well you did, but that's fine, I was waiting for your call," he said happily after clearing his throat.

"Do you want to come over to my apartment and have a lazy day? I could make breakfast. We could watch a movie, and maybe talk about, uh, yesterday."

"Really?" he said, sounding surprised. "Yeah, definitely, I will be right over."

I grinned. "Alright, see you soon."

"Okay, See ya, Rachel," Paul said, his voice sounding almost elated.

I hung up the phone with a smile on my face. Moving to the kitchen, I took out all the ingredients to make a huge batch of pancakes and turned on my stove to heat up the pan. Jake mentioned last night that all of the pack, which was still strange for me to call them that, ate like... well they ate like wolves.

A knock on my door brought me out of my concentration. I skipped over and swung the door open to find Paul grinning down at me. "Hey, Rach. You look great," his eyes soft and full of happiness.

I looked down at my outfit. Gym shorts and a tank top, very glamorous. I still smiled up at him. "Thanks, Paul. You're lookin' good too, want some pancakes?" I asked as I pulled him into my house.

"Absolutely. I'm starved," he said, following me back to my kitchen.

"Good, I'm making tons," I said as I handed him a plate. "There's some right there if you want to start." I said, pointing the spatula towards a large plate of pancakes.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" he asked as he eyed up the food.

"Nope, there's orange juice or milk in the fridge if you want any of that." He nodded and dug into the food. After a couple more minutes I joined him at the table with another stack of pancakes. "So what time did you get out of work?" I asked as I poured syrup on my plate.

"Eight," Paul said as he inhaled another stack of food.

I stared at him. "Eight in the morning? Did you sleep at all?"

He shrugged. "For about an hour. Are you gonna want to eat those last two there?"

Shaking my head, I pushed the plate towards him. "You should go home and get more sleep."

"No!" he said quickly. "I feel great, I want to stay here with you."

"Are you sure, because I don't want you to fee like you have-"

"I want to be here. I want to talk about yesterday and the future. I have so much to tell you about everything," he said after finishing off the pancakes.

"Does this have anything to do with you imprinting on me?" I asked quietly.

He looked up. "Did Jake tell you?"

"He let it slip, but he wouldn't explain any of it. He said you should be the one to tell me about it." I explained. "Jacob seemed sort of jealous of you."

"I was jealous of Sam and Jared too before it happened to me. I don't envy Quil though," he said, understanding Jacob's feelings.

"What is it?" curiosity boiling inside of me.

"Don't freak out okay. I don't want you to feel tied down or anything like that," I nodded, urging him to go on. "It is like true love at first sight, or finding your soulmate. From the moment I saw you on the beach, I knew I had to be around you. It's up to you for how you want to me. I can be your best friend, your brother, the person you love. I can be anything, as long as you let me be around you." His eye's looked into mine. "We are like two puzzle pieces. It's like I was born to make you happy."

"Really?" I squeaked, my voice just above a whisper. He nodded and smiled at me. I shook my head and cleared my throat. "Well, it would be weird if you acted like my brother. And being best friend's won't really work out either. I guess that leaves you to be the person that I will grow to love."

Paul's body relaxed and he squeezed my hand. "You're so great. I don't even know what to say..."

I grinned. "Say... Hey, Rach, want to watch a movie?"

Paul's eyes softened and he leaned over, placing a kiss on my cheek. "Hey, Rach, would you want to watch a movie with me?"

I smiled and got up from my seat, lacing my fingers with his. "Paul, I would love to watch a movie with you," I said as I led him into my living room.

**There ya go. The reaction. This chapter is actually semi-long for me, and it wasn't all that hard to write.**

**I love all your reviews. **

**hmmm... I don't really have much to saw, enjoy the chapter!**

**Keep up the reviews, I love them!!**

**Maddi!!**


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own anything

Chapter 6

"Paul, do I look okay?" I asked as I looked in the mirror at my outfit. Jeans and a t-shirt. I groaned and pulled a hoodie over my head. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, just to yank out the tie, my hair falling around my shoulders.

Paul grinned at me from my bed. "You look amazing, like always. Anyways, it's your dad's bon fire, you shouldn't be worried. You already know half the people there." We were going to the bon fire at First Beach, it would be my first time hearing the stories since finding out that they were real.

I shrugged and walked over to my bed, standing between his legs. "It's the first time I'm meeting the girls. I mean, I have met Emily, but I haven't really talked to her. And from what you've told me, I'm gonna be spending a lot of time with these girls. I want to make a good impression." Paul opened his mouth to say something, but I went on. "And, I haven't really spent much time with any of the other guys, besides Jake. I guess I know Quil and Embry, but they were always just Jake's little friends. What if Jared or Sam doesn't like me?"

"Rachel, they will love you." He said, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. "You need to stop worrying," he pulled me closer to him.

Paul reached up and gently kissed my lips. I leaned into his body, lightly wrapping my arms around his neck. My knees weakened as Paul slid his hands under my shirt, resting them on my lower back. Pulling my arms back, I lightly pushed him down on my bed, our lips never leaving the others as I laid my body onto his. My legs straddled his as we deepened the kiss, sliding our tongues against each others'

"Hey, Rach. Do you need a - Oh, god, sorry!" Jake yelped as he walked into my room. I hopped off Paul, almost falling off the bed before he caught me and brought me back to his chest. "Ew. I - Rachel, ew. Paul, gross."

I rolled off of Paul and looked over to Jake, my face growing red in embarrassment. "Sure, Jake, you can come in, thanks for knocking."

Jacob glared at me. "Excuse me, Rachel, I didn't know that you would be making out with Paul, on your bed." He looked at us again and shivered in disgust. "I was just wondering if you needed a ride there, obviously you don't."

I skipped off the bed and past my brother. "Nope, I'll see you there, Jake."

Paul grinned and Jacob glared at him. "Do not let me catch you doing that with my sister ever again. Ever," Jacob said, shoving Paul into the hallway. "You know as well as I do that I can rip off your arms as quickly as you can say-"

"Jacob, please," I interrupted as I grabbed Paul's hand, leading him out the door.

Jake held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, Rachel. I'm just looking out for you. That stuff leads to other stuff, which leads to babies."

Paul and I stopped in our tracks and turned to stare at Jacob. "You are so ridiculous," I said, turning on my heel towards my car.

"What?" Jake asked as he watched Paul and I get into his truck. I threw him a sarcastic wave as we passed him, pulling out of the apartments parking lot.

"Alright, I know Sam and Emily are together, Jared is with a girl named Kim, who's your age?" Paul nodded and pulled me into the middle seat, closer to his warm body. "Who was the other guy to imprint on a girl?" I asked, not remembering if it was Embry or Quil.

Paul cleared his throat. "That would be Quil. He imprinted on Emily's cousin, Claire."

"That's cool, she's your age too?" I asked him as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Uh, not so much," Paul said quietly, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

I looked up him. "Not so much? Is she younger that you guys?" Paul nodded, not taking his eye's off the road. "How much younger?"

He sighed. "She- I think she turned three last month."

My jaw dropped, "three years old!" Paul nodded again, not saying much more. I thought back to what Paul told me about imprinting, and how it couldn't be stopped, no matter what stood in the way. "I'm guessing, hoping, that she looks at him as a brother."

"Yes, Quil loves that little girl more than anything. He would never, ever, do anything that could possibly hurt her. He's the most overprotective brother in the world, well, besides Jacob," Paul said, placing his hand on my thigh.

The car slowed to a stop as Paul pressed on the breaks. My nerves were getting the best of me and I leaned over to Paul, whispering softly in his ear. "Maybe we could just turn this truck around and we could go back into my room and finish off what Jacob interrupted."

Paul's eyes widened and he pulled me onto his lap. "Maybe we could pick up right here," he said as he placed his warm lips on mine. I grinned into the kiss and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, bringing him even closer to me. His hands fell off the steering wheel and slide down my back.

"Hello! Paul, what did I just tell you five minutes ago! I will pulled your arms off of my sisters ass, and then off of your body!" Jacob yelled, his voice muffled by the closed window as he knocked on the glass. "It's disgusting. What if someone else saw you?"

I grinned. "I'd say enjoy the show." Paul let out a loud, barking laugh, as Jacob rolled his eyes and pretended to gag. Paul opened the door and I slid off his lap, hopping to the ground. "Awh, Jakie. Someday you'll find someone who you can't keep your hands off of. I promise."

He shook his head. "Seriously though, it's not something that I , or anyone else for that matter, want to be seeing."

I put up my hands in surrender. "Hey, I didn't ask for you to barge into my room, you brought that on yourself, little brother."

"Whatever. You just officially started dating like a week ago. I didn't think you would be rolling around in your bed together," Jake said as he led us down the trail that led to First Beach. I shrugged and grabbed Paul's hand as he kissed me lightly on the top of my head. "Ugh, can you, I don't know, not do that?"

"Sorry, man, you're just gonna have to get used to it," Paul said cheerfully, leaning down and kissing me again.

"Jake, I thought you accepted the fact that Paul and I are together now," I said as we walked towards the fire.

He shrugged his huge shoulders. "I have accepted that you are dating, not that you are touching," he said as he slapped Paul's hand that was resting on my lower back.

"Rachel!" My dad said happily from the other side of the fire as we entered the clearing.

I smiled and walked over to my dad, kissing him on the cheek. "Hi, Dad."

He grinned at me and nodded over to Paul who was setting a blanket on the ground for us to sit on. "Sam tells me you've really turned that boy around." I smiled at Paul before turning back to my dad. "He says Paul has yet to lose his temper since he met you."

"I guess I have a calming effect on him," I said quietly.

My dad nodded. "I just want you to be happy, honey. Plus, if he is gonna help you stick around this town for a bit longer, I'm all for it."

I smiled again. "I just wish Jacob would agree..."

Dad let out a large, husky laugh. "Your brother will come around, I promise."

"I hope so," I said sighing. I smiled as Jacob attempted to peg Paul with a hotdog, which he expertly caught and placed in a bun.

"Hey, Rach, do you want a hotdog?" Paul asked after he inhaled the one that Jacob threw at him.

I nodded and looked back at my dad. "I can't wait to hear the stories, Dad." My dad nodded and shooed me off in the direction of the fire.

Paul handed me a hotdog. "Just ketchup, right?"

I grinned again. "You bet. Nice catch by the way."

Paul smiled proudly. "You saw that? Yeah, my reflexes are pretty good."

I reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for the hotdog, Paul," I said quietly.

He leaned down and pecked me on the lips, smiling into the kiss. "Anything for you, Rach." Jacob started coughing loudly and glared at us. Paul grinned as I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry, he'll get over it," Paul said as he rested his back against a large log that was sitting around the fire. He pulled my free hand down, helping me to sit down between his warm legs.

I leaned back into his warm, chest and finished my food quickly. "You're comfy, Paul." I sighed happily, our bodies were a perfect fit for each other. I could lay here foever.

He smiled down at me, his eyes filled with emotion. "You're pretty comfy too, Rachel."

We both looked up as my dad cleared his throat to begin telling the legends. It was strange to hear the bedtime stories he would tell my sister and I, knowing that they weren't tall tales that he told to scare us into staying in bed.

After my dad finished we were all silent until Jacob whipped an acorn at my face, which Paul, again, swiftly caught and smashed in his large hand. "Watch it, Jake. You might want to rip off my arms, but if you ever hurt her, I'll rip off your head," Paul said, glaring at Jacob.

I rolled my eyes. "How about no one rips anything off of anyone? Okay?" Paul shrugged his shoulders and kissed me on the forehead, while Jacob just rolled his eyes.

I noticed that Kim was getting to get a drink and I hoped up too. "You want anything to drink?" Paul nodded. I walked over to the large cooler that Kim was standing by.

She looked up and smiled. "Hey! I'm Kim, you're Rachel, right?" I nodded and smiled back. "I'm sure we will be getting to know each other pretty well," Kim said before returning to Jared's lap.

I skipped back to Paul, falling comfortably into his embrace. He took the can of pop I handed him and chugged it quickly. "Thirsty?"

He nodded and wrapped his arms tighter around my waist. "Did you meet Kim?"

"Yeah, sort of. We didn't really say much, but she seemed nice," I said, breathing in deeply, Paul's scent filling my nose. I rested my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes, and enjoying being with him. I felt Paul's head lightly resting on top mine.

Some time later, the adults had left, leaving the pack and the few imprints staring at the dying fire. I lifted my feet from my flip-flops and placed them onto Paul's warm leg, causing him to jump slightly.

"Whoa, your toes are freezing," Paul said, his deep voice ringing in my ears.

"Yup, good thing I have you to warm me up, right?" I said, pecking his neck quickly.

Paul shifted and cleared his throat. "Right, I'll always be here to warm you up, Rach."

**I am so sorry about this being late!! Forgive me? I had a ton of homework and a Spanish exam, which didn't go extremely well, I got a C. Oh well. Plus I went home last weekend, so I didn't get to work on this much.**

**So anyways, Jake catches them in the act, twice. ouch for Jacob. **

**I really love the reviews! I'm so glad you are enjoying my story so much! Check out my other one too All My Loving. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!**

**MainlyMaddi!**


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own anything

Chapter 7

"Jacob, I swear to God, if you fidget one more time, I will be the one ripping limbs off. Got it?" I said as I tied the long tie that hung loosely around his neck.

Paul grinned at me from the couch as he popped another chip in his mouth, before turning back to the baseball game that was on television.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I'm nervous, the girl of my dreams is marrying another guy. Another disgusting, pale, cold, murderous-" his hands clutching into fists as he described what he thought about Edward. I have never met the guy, but if Bella Swan loved him enough to get married at eighteen, the kid must be doing something right. Even if he was a vampire.

"Jake. We talked about this." Jacob was attending Bella Swan's wedding today and for the past hour I have been coaching him on staying positive for her benefit. "She is your best friend, and she will be thrilled to see you there. You can't be bad-mouthing her husband during her wedding, it's not polite."

He sighed. "I know. I want to be there, I really do. It just sucks," Jacob said, loosening the tie that I had just tightened.

"Yeah, literally for her," Paul said, eating another chip. Jacob jumped towards Paul, shoving him off the couch.

"Jake! Don't, you'll ruin your clothes!" Paul grinned at him as Jacob's shaking frame moved towards the door. "Once you get home, you can do whatever you want to him," I promised, tightening his tie again.

"Awh, Rach. He knows I'm kidding, right Jake?" Paul said, standing up from the floor and flopping back onto the couch.

Jacob glared at him and shook his head, turning back to me. "I need to go, the ceremony is about to finish, I want to be fashionably late, but not too late."

"Smile, Jacob. You need to at least pretend to be happy for her." He nodded, not looking very convincing. "The guys will be there if anything goes wrong. Seth is already there waiting for you, you will be fine."

"Right, thanks, Rachel." He hugged me loosely and I knew he was glaring at Paul over my head, because Paul was chuckling in the background. I smiled at him encouraging before watching him walk out my dad's front door. Jake leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Mom would be so happy that you're helping me with this, so proud." I stepped back from him and my eyes fell to the ground. Jake pinched my elbow lightly, bringing my eye's up to his. "It's a good thing, Rach. A great thing..." He squeezed my arm and walked towards the door.

After Jake shut the door, I felt Paul's warm arms wrap around me, instantly making me feel better. I swung around and pointed my finger in his face. "Be nice to Jake, he is really having trouble with this whole wedding thing."

"I'm sorry. I was kidding, he knows that," Paul said, kissing the tip of my finger, causing me to forget about Jacob for a moment.

I snapped back to reality and looked back to Paul. "Just take it easy on him for a little while, if not for him, then do it for me." I said, looking in Paul's dark brown eyes.

"Anything for you, Rachel." Paul responded, pulling me closer to his body and kissing my hair lightly.

I smiled, breathing in his scent. "Hey, I'm supposed to be mad at you."

He grinned. "Awh, come on, Rach. Jake will be alright." Paul leaned down and pressed his lips to mine lightly, causing me to sigh happily.

"Do you have to go to the wedding too?" I asked, not wanting to see him leave.

He shook his head. "Nope, I have patrolled for the past four nights. I asked Sam for the night off so that I could be with you."

I smiled and looked up at him. "What about your family? Do you have any siblings?" He was always either with me or working, he had fit in his family some where in the mix.

His eye's momentarily brightened. "I have a little sister, but I don't go over to see her often."

"Well, do you want to do that? I can tell you miss her," I said, rubbing his long back lightly.

Paul looked at me skeptically. "Are you sure you want to spend my only night off with my seven-year-old sister?"

"If it would make you happy, then yes. Besides, I want to meet your family. And being that you know pretty much everything about mine, I should know yours, " I said placing my hand in his. "You're always trying to make me happy, and I want to do that for you for once."

"Rachel, you always make me happy," Paul said squeezing my small hand lightly. "But I would love for you to meet them."

I smiled up at him. "Let's go then."

"Really?" Paul asked and I grinned at him, nodding. "Awesome! I haven't hung out with my sister in days." Frowning momentarily, I knew that he was spending time with me rather than his family. Paul frowned too, seeing my expression. "You okay? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, let's go meet your family." I said smiling up at him.

Paul let me to his car with a huge grin on his face. "I'm so happy you want to meet my family. I have been too nervous to ask you."

I leaned my head against his shoulder as he started the vehicle. "So what is your sisters name?"

"Nikki. She's adorable," Paul said, his eyes filled with happiness and pride.

"Are you guys close?" I asked, enjoying this side of my boyfriend.

He shrugged. "Before I met you, she was the only girl in my life." He chuckled a bit, "she's a little jealous of you, stealing my heart the way you did."

I smiled a little and sighed. "I feel sort of bad, taking you away from your family."

"Hey," He said, nudging my side, "I love being with you. You're the favorite piece of my life, and I wouldn't trade my moments with you for anything. Nikki will love you after about five minutes, she likes everyone." I reached up and kissed his cheek as he turned his car into an unfamiliar driveway. "Home, sweet home."

I looked out the front window to see the average La Push house. Cute and cosy, perfect for the families who live here. Paul opened the door and slowly pulled me out of the vehicle. As soon as the door slammed shut, a little girl burst from the screen door and jumped into Paul's arms.

"Paul! I missed you! Oh, you're here," the girl turned to me and glared. Nikki had shoulder length black hair and dark russet skin. She was wearing a bright blue tank top and jean shorts. Her brown eyes stared into mine, slowly softening as she looked me over.

Paul laughed. "Nikki, be nice. This is Rachel, my girlfriend." She stared at me for another second before Paul nudged her and she waved. "Rachel is going to be a teacher at your school next year, did you know that?"

Nikki nodded, rolling her eyes. "You told me a hundred times, Paul. You said that she is going to be a teacher, but I will not have her until fourth grade."

"What grade are you in, Nikki?" I asked, trying to start a conversation with the other girl in Paul's life.

She buried her head in Paul's large chest and muttered, "second."

"That's really good, hopefully in two years, I will be your teacher," I said, rubbing her back lightly.

"Paul? Is that you, honey?" All three of our head snapped up to the porch.

Paul's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, Paulie. Mom is home." Paul swallowed loudly and waved to his mom with his free hand.

"Mom. It's early isn't it? Shouldn't you still be at work?" Paul asked, his voice wavering. I moved my eyes to him and saw worry written on his face, so I placed my hand lightly on his back, causing him to relax slightly.

Paul's mom stumbled slightly as she moved towards us. "Work wasn't going to well, I didn't go today," she giggled quietly, "or yesterday."

Paul groaned. "Mom, we need that money. You can't just not go to work." He placed Nikki on the ground and pushed her towards me. Paul slowly started walking towards the porch. "Mom, have you been drinking today?"

"Only a little, right Nikki? Mommy has been playing with you all day, right?" Nikki looked from her mother, up to Paul and nodded slowly.

Paul nodded sadly. "Okay, Mom. Let's go inside, get you some coffee and maybe some food, alright?," he asked, reaching out to grab onto his mother's hand, which she quickly swatted out of her way.

"I'm fine, Paul," she snapped as she stumbled forward, Paul reaching out to steady her. "Now, who is the pretty girl over there?"

Paul looked over to me and gave me a small smile. "Mom, this is Rachel Black; my girlfriend."

I took that as my cue and smiled brightly at his mom. "It's great to finally meet you, Mrs. Brooks," I said walking up to the porch slowly, Nikki following close behind me.

She mumbled something sounding like "very pretty," before hobbling back into the house.

Paul sighed and looked over to me. "I'm sorry, I thought she would be at work. I wanted to warn you before..."

"No, don't worry about it," I said, squeezing his hand lightly. He smiled and kissed me on the forehead, pulling back with his little sister smacked him on the leg.

"Paul, can we show Rachel my room?" Nikki said, pulling on the hem of his shirt.

My boyfriend's bright smile returned to his face. "Sure thing, Nick." He rested his hand on my back and led me deeper into the house, turning into a small room with green and blue walls. "This is the princess's chambers," he said patting his sister on the top of her head.

"Paul helped me paint it and put my bed together for me," Nikki said proudly.

I smiled up at him, "he's good at that, isn't he?" I said, remembering when he first put my bed together too.

"Yeah, he is the best," she said, flopping onto her bed. Paul grinned proudly at both of us.

"So what do my two favorite girls want to do tonight?" Paul asked falling onto the bed next to his sister.

"Let's make cookies!" Nikki said happily, hitting Paul in the head with her pillow.

He looked over to me, "Nikki loves to bake but I don't know if we have anything to make cookies." His sister frowned and flopped over on her bed, resting in Paul's side.

I smiled at the two of them, falling deeper for Paul as I watched him interact with his sister. "You know, I think I have the ingredients at my apartment, I needed to make some for my dad's birthday anyway."

"Really? Can we Paul? Please?" She said, jumping on her bed around Paul.

"Anything for my two girls," he said lifting onto his back and grabbing my hand. We walked out, passing the living room and saw his mom passed out on the couch with a large bottle laying on the floor. "Uh, Rach, take Nikki out the the car and strap her in, alright?" he asked, placing his sister on the ground. I nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her towards Paul's truck.

Minutes later Paul was throwing an empty bottle into the recycling bin on the side of the road. He hopped into the car and smiled at us. "Let's go bake some cookies." I laughed and Nikki clapped her hands, leaning her head on Paul's elbow.

**Heeey Sorry it has taken so long to update! This chapter isn't my favorite, but I like it. It gives some insight into Paul's family life. And he has a sister! yay! and his mom as an alcohol problem.**

**I love all your reviews, keep them coming! **

** Maddi**


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own Anything

Chapter 8

I unlocked my front door and let Paul and Nikki in. "Here it is," I said breaking the silence of my empty apartment.

Nikki walked into my house slowly, holding onto Paul's hand. "Do you live all by yourself?" the little girl asked as she slipped off her flip flops.

"Yep," I moved into my living room, switching the lights on. "There's a big dog that stops by every once and a while though," I said sticking my tongue out at Paul. He rolled his eye's, grinning at me widely.

"What about your mommy and daddy?" she asked as she dropped Paul's hand and flopped onto my couch.

Paul shot me an apologetic look and I gave him a small smile. "Nope, I live by myself."

She turned and shook her finger at Paul. "You should not let her live all alone, Paul. What if she gets robbed. She doesn't even have her daddy here to keep her safe. You need to be here if she gets robbed."

He laughed, "I will do my best to make sure to keep her safe, okay Nick?" I laughed too as his sister nodded her head.

"Can we make cookies now?" she asked impatiently as she kicked her legs in the air.

I smiled. "Yep, let's go wash our hands first," I said, moving towards the kitchen and turning on the sink. Paul lifted Nikki up so that she could wash her hands in my sink. He placed her on the counter so that she could help mix the ingredients. My heart grew again as I watched him with the little girl.

Paul didn't show much affection unless it was towards me. It was amazing to see him interact with her. I blushed at the thought of Paul and I having children. He would be such a great father.

My boyfriend broke my trance when he nudged me. "Hey, you alright? You're blushing," he said, stroking my cheek softly. "Did I ever mention how beautiful you are when you blush?"

This, of course, caused my blush to deepen and I shook my head. "I was just thinking..." Was it wrong that I was embarrassed that I was thinking about having his children? I didn't want to scare him away. He's only nineteen! And I'm only twenty-one. I was far too young to be thinking about having children.

"About me, I hope," he said jokingly, moving closer to me.

I grinned, rolling my eyes and looking up into his. "I always think about you," I said quietly.

His eye's swelled with emotion. Paul pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me. "Rachel, I lo-"

"Uhm, can I crack the eggs, please?" asked Nikki, causing us to jump apart. She was giggling quietly at her brother as he continued to hold onto me.

I nodded my head quickly. "Of course, want to see a trick with eggs?" I gave her one and she looked at me. "You go first, sweetie." Nikki cracked the egg well, only allowing one piece of shell to fall into the large mixing bowl. I watched her crack three more before I grabbed one and cracked it against the bowl using one hand, keeping the entire shell in my hand.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?" she asked, her eye's wide with amazement.

I grinned. "It takes a lot of practice, my mom taught me when I was little." I said, smiling sadly before grabbing a tin filled with sugar to start adding the next ingredient.

"Your mom must be really cool," she said as she dumped a measuring cup of sugar into the bowl.

I could feel the tears pricking against my eyes as I nodded. "Yeah, she really is." I cleared my throat and handed her another cup to hold over the bowl as I poured in vegetable oil.

"You will be a good mom, Rachel. Especially if you teach your babies cool tricks with eggs," she said, mixing in the chocolate chips slowly.

I looked up at her and then glanced at Paul, who squeezed my hand supportively. "I-I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Turning quickly, I felt Paul's eyes on me as I moved quickly to the bathroom.

I closed the door and glanced in the mirror, quickly looking alway. There was so much of my mother in me. Her eyes, hair, her lips. Even the way I talk and the things I do remind myself of her. A tear slid down my face and I quickly wiped it away.

A knock on the door caused me to jump. "Rach, are you okay?" Paul's soothing voice said through the wooden door. "I'm sorry, she doesn't know."

I swung the door open and glanced past him to see Nikki sitting on the couch watching SpongeBob Squarepants on TV. Holding onto Paul's hand, I pulled him into the small bathroom, hugging him tightly. "I miss her so much, everyday."

Paul ran his finger's through my hair, calming me down. "It's okay to miss her, Rach. You don't have to hide that from anyone." He kissed me lightly on the forehead. "If you want to talk about her, remember her, I'm always here. Jake, your dad, your sister, we are all here for you to talk to you. We love you, Rachel." He paused and looked into my dark eyes, "I love you, Rachel."

My heart jumped and I threw my arms around his neck. I smiled and another tear fell from my eye. "I love you too, Paul."

His large thumbs swept away the rest of my tears and he smiled at me sweetly. "You are so, so beautiful."

I sniffed, shaking my head. "You're too good to me."

Paul shrugged and kissed me on the forehead. "That's what I'm here for."

I hugged him tightly once more before looking back in the mirror. Luckily the small amount of make-up I had on had not completely wiped off. "We should get those cookies in the oven, shouldn't we?"

He lifted my face, his eye's full of love and support, "whenever you're ready."

I nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, if you ever want to talk about..."

Paul's eyes fell from mine and he nodded back. "I've never really talked about it to anyone. The pack only knows because, well, they know everything."

"Well, I'm here for you. For whatever you need," I said, trying to give back a fraction of the support that he is always giving me. He was everything I could ever ask for, and I wanted to make that clear to him.

"Thanks, baby," his voice sounding tender and soft. He pulled me into his chest, hugging me tightly. We stayed like that for a few minutes before he sighed, "we should probably get back to those cookies."

"Yes, we should," I turned the doorknob and walked back into my apartment. "Hey, Nikki, how about those cookies?" The girl looked up from the couch and nodded quickly. She hopped onto her feet and dashed to the kitchen, Paul and I following quickly behind her.

After placing the sheet of cookies into the oven, I turned around and glanced at the clock. "Do you guys want anything for dinner?" It was around six, and I knew Paul would be getting hungry by this time. "We can order subs, or pizza, or something like that."

"Subs!" Nikki said excitedly. "Then we can have the cookies for dessert!" Paul wrote down what we wanted and walked into the living room to place the orders. "Do you like Hannah Montana?" Nikki said, staring into space.

I laughed inwardly, "I've never really watched it, do you like her?"

"Yeah, she is pretty and Lilly is funny," she said absentmindedly, twirling her hair in her fingers. I nodded, pretending I knew who the characters are.

Paul came back into the room and set the phone on the table. "Food's on it's way," he said as he kissed me on the cheek, then kissing his sister on the forehead.

"Ew, Paul that's gross," Nikki screamed, jumping away from Paul.

We looked up as the phone started ringing, "That's too early to be Jacob, I hope he didn't freak out," I said, grabbing the phone and answering it. "Hello?"

"Hello Rachel, this is Emily, Sam's fiance," a sweet, yet urgent voice said into the phone.

My heart dropped. Jake was hurt, I knew it. "Is my brother okay?" I asked quietly, Paul looked up at me quickly.

"Oh! Of course, I haven't heard anything otherwise. This is actually about Paul, do you think I could talk to him?" Emily rattled out, assuring me that my brother was fine.

"Alright," I said to her before looking back to my boyfriend. "Emily is on the phone, it's for you."

Paul's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Did she say what it was about? Is the pack okay?" he asked, pulling the phone from my hands.

"Yeah, they are fine. She didn't say anything else," Paul's eyes fell to the ground, as if he knew what Emily was going to say.

"Hey, what's up" he said into the phone, moving into the other room.

"Are the cookies done yet?" Nikki asked excitedly.

"Almost, they have to cool off before we can eat any though," I said, checking the timer on my oven. Ten more minutes and they would be done baking.

Paul sulked back into the room, dropping my phone on the counter. "Hey, Rach, can I talk to you?" His eyes wouldn't meet mine as I nodded and followed him into my living room. "Uh, my dad called Emily." He took a deep breath. "My mom must have found out that I threw out whatever she was drinking today. She is apparently going on a drunken rampage now."

My heart broke for him, "is there anything at all I can do for you or Nikki? Do you want to stay here tonight?" I didn't want either of them to get hurt tonight.

"I hate to ask you to do that, though..." he said, still staring at the ground, looking as ashamed as he felt. "I just don't want Nikki to see my mom like this, or to get hurt or scared by anything."

"Hey, don't worry about it," I reached over and caressed his cheek, "I love you and I love your sister. You're always welcome here, both of you, you know that."

Paul looked up at me and kissed me on the cheek. "You're too good to me, Rachel. Thank you, really," he said sincerely. "Last time we went over to Sam's, that's probably why my dad called there." I felt my heart breaking again for him. Leaning over, I placed a kiss on his on his forehead.

A knock on my door broke us from conversation. "Food's here." Paul jumped up and opened the door, paying for the food. "I could have paid, Paul," I said kissing him on the cheek.

"Consider it as our thank you, I really appreciate this, Rachel. You have no idea," he said, smiling sadly before walking into the kitchen where his sister had found a pad of paper and a pencil and was drawing pictures.

"Yay! I am hungry," Nikki said, dropping the pencil and taking the sub from Paul's hand.

Paul smiled down at her. "Hey Nick, guess what?" His sister looked up at him as she chewed on her food. "It looks like we're gonna have a sleepover tonight with Rachel."

"Cool! Can we watch scary movies?" she asked excitedly.

"I don't know, Nikki. Last time you slept in my bed for the next two days," Her eyes pleaded with Paul. I could see him breaking down. "Fine, but nothing too scary, okay."

"Yay!" She said, clapping her hand together. Seconds later, the timer rang on the cookies and Nikki jumped for joy. "Yes! The cookies, the cookies!"

I grinned and nodded, "We have to let them cool off for a few minutes, so finish your sub, then you can have some cookies," I said as I took the cookies out of the oven and placed them on the cooling sheets.

Paul smiled lovingly and kissed me lightly on the lips. "You really are going to be great mom, Rach."

It was my turn to smile sadly, "I guess I learn from the best."

**I am having major writer's block for my other story All My Loving, where this chapter came pretty easily at first haha. **

**I like this chapter sort of, it doesn't have much action but it is cute I think. **

**How about Penn State this weekend!!! Ahh Beating Ohio State at OSU for the first time in thirty years! There was a MASSIVE riot here, I think there was at least 1500 people crowding the streets of downtown State College. It is on youtube just type in PSU OSU Victory Riots. they are awesome lol**

**anyways, read and review**

**I love hearing from you guys, you're all really great :)**

**loveLovelove**

**Maddi**


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own anything

Chapter 9

"Paulie, I'm so scared," Nikki said as she peered at the screen in front of us. She was plugging her ears with her fingers to block out the sound of Freddy Krueger's frightening laugh We were watching Nightmare on Elm Street, which I knew was a bad idea. The poor little girl would never want to sleep again, but she insisted that she would be fine. My sister was terrified of this movie when we were kids, she slept in my bed for a week after seeing it.

Paul shifted so that Nikki was sitting on his lap. One of his arms was wrapped tightly around her little body and the other was draped over my shoulders. "Nikki, you said you wouldn't be scared. Do you want me to turn it off?"

"No! I want to see the end," she said, still staring at the screen through her fingers. Paul's eyes softened and he kissed the top of her head. My heart melted to mush as I smiled up at him. He looked over to me and squeezed me closer to him.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around Paul and Nikki, resting my head on Paul's muscular arm. "Don't worry, Nick, it's almost over," I said, rubbing her small arm soothingly. "Besides, Paul wouldn't let Freddy hurt us, would he?" I said looking up at my boyfriend expectingly.

"Of course not, I won't let anyone hurt either of you," he reassured, kissing us both on the forehead. My heart pulled at me again, receiving a feeling of family from our actions. Nikki didn't say anything, her eye's still zeroed in on the television.

The little girl yawned as the credits rolled. She quickly shook her head, trying to wake herself up. I smiled down at her. "Nikki would you like a t-shirt to sleep in, it's getting late," I said stretching my back. She nodded and stood up to follow me as I walked back to my room. I pulled out a old La Push Volleyball t-shirt and tossed it to her. "There ya go, sweetie."

"Thanks," she said, turning around and pulling off her shorts and tank top.

I gasped when I saw a large bruise on her shoulder blades. "Nikki, what happened to your back?" I said walking over to her quickly.

She pulled the shirt on over her hand and grabbed my hand. "You can't tell Paulie, he is so happy now. He will get mad like he use to and he will run to the woods. Please don't tell him, Rachel. I don't want him to be mad at me." she whispered to me.

"Honey, we have to tell Paul. I promise he will not be mad at you," I said, rubbing her cheek softly. "What happened?" My hand lightly traced the dark mark on her back. I had grown attached to her in the past few hours and I knew that Paul needed to be informed of the bruise.

Nikki looked down at the ground. "My mommy was sick again, like she usually is. I asked her for some milk for my cereal and she got mad," she said quietly. "Paulie would get so mad if he knew."

My jaw dropped. No wonder Paul had an anger problem. "Paul will not be mad at you, Nikki, you didn't do anything wrong. We have to tell him, okay?"

"I'm scared," the tears in her eyes were falling down her cheeks and her brown eyes were starting to turn red as she rubbed them.

"I know, but you are brave. Plus, I will be right here the whole time, I promise," I said, holding onto her hand. I wasn't really sure what to do in this situation, so I was just going with my instincts. "Don't worry, Nikki. Everything will be fine."

She nodded and opened my door to walk back into the living room, where Paul was still laying on the floor. "There's my two favorite girls," he said smiling. Paul noticed my somber expression and sat up. "What's going on?"

Nikki looked up at me, terrified. And I looked to Paul. "Uh, you have to promise not to get mad at Nikki, okay?" I said, trying to calm down his little sister.

"Promise," his worried voice said quietly. His eyes bored into mine, asking a hundred questions that only his sister could answer.

I nudged the girl beside me lightly, urging her to tell him her story. "Mommy was sick again yesterday when you were at work. I asked her if I could have some milk and she got mad at me." I noticed Paul's hands starting to shake and I pulled Nikki closer to me. "You promised Paul! I know when you are mad, please don't be mad at me."

Paul took a deep breath and shook his head. "I would never be mad at you, Nikki. Keep going," he said, surprisingly calm.

"She pushed the chair real hard and I fell on the ground, then the chair fell right on me," she said quickly, getting it out all in one breath. "I'm sorry Paulie."

Paul had his head in his hands and was taking deep breaths. "Nikki, you should show him, honey," I said, crouching down so that I met her eyes. Paul's head snapped up, as Nikki shook her head. "He won't be mad, right Paul?" Paul didn't make any motions, he just stared at his sister. "Paul?" He shook his head quickly. I knew he couldn't trust his voice to not break down. "See? It will be okay, you need to show him your back."

Nikki slowly nodded and removed the large shirt I had given her. I held her hand and turned her around. At the sight of the bruise, Paul stood up and started to pace around the room. I could see the anger in Paul's features and the tears in Nikki's eyes that threatened to fall. "Please don't be mad at me Paulie. I'm sorry."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to his sister, falling to his knees. "I would never be mad at you for this Nikki, never. You didn't do anything wrong," Paul said slowly, his voice cracking as he pulled his sister into his still shaking arms gently.

"Paulie?" Nikki called his name quietly.

"What's wrong, Nick?" Paul asked as he looked down at her, scared that there was more abuse that she had to tell him about.

She sniffed lightly, "is Freddy gonna get me when I got to sleep?" Nikki asked as she let out a long yawn, before shaking her head again.

Paul chuckled lightly,calming down momentarily, and I stifled a laugh. "No, sweetie, Freddy won't get you in your sleep. You will wake up tomorrow and be just fine, I promise. Now, how about you lay down and try to get some sleep, okay?" She yawned again and laid down on the couch, pulling the blanket over her head.

Paul watched her for a minute before walking into my kitchen slowly. I followed him and watched as he leaned against my counter, his back facing me. I noticed his arms had begun to shake again. "Hey, don't blame yourself for this," I said, placing my hand lightly on his shoulder. "Trust me," I said, my vision flashing back to the night my mom died.

"If I would have been there, it wouldn't have happened," his voice trembling with every word. "I'm the worst older brother ever." I started to tell him he was wrong but he held up his hand. "There's nothing to say, do you care if I get some air?" he asked me but his hand was already turning the doorknob.

"Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on her," I said sadly, not wanting him to leave, even for a few minutes. "Take as much time as you need." He sighed and pulled the side door open, walking out into the night. I cringed when I heard snapping and a loud howl erupted into the silence.

I felt lonely and cold without Paul by my side. Looking around my kitchen, I decided to start to clean the mess we made making the cookies. After twenty minutes, I was sitting at my table tapping my fingers, waiting for Paul to return. I changed into shorts and a tank top and returned to my kitchen to wait for Paul to come back to me.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up feeling comfortable and warm. The two arms that were wrapped around my waist refused to budge as I tried to wiggle around to face Paul. I gave up and leaned back, feeling his warm breath on my neck. "Good morning," Paul's husky voice sending chills down my spine.

"When did you get in last night?" I asked as he pulled me closer to his body, his bare skin touching my back was making it hard for me to think straight.

I felt him shrug. "About an hour after I left. I'm sorry about that, I couldn't control it much longer," his voice filled with shame. "It was too much to handle, but I lasted longer than I usually do..."

I successfully turned around and looked in his dark, sad eyes. "Don't worry about it," I said kissing him lightly. I wrinkled my nose, "you have morning breath."

Paul grinned. "So do you, I sort of like it," he said kissing me again. "No, I really like it."

I giggled and looked over Paul as my bed creaked. "Good morning, sun shine," I smiled as Nikki climbed into my bed.

"I had a nightmare, Freddy got you both, and he was coming for me but then I woke up." the little girl said frightfully. Paul picked her up and placed her between us and she clung to Paul's neck.

"We're fine and so are you, go back to sleep, it's still too early to get up," he said soothingly. I turned my head to looked at my clock. It was only six in the morning. Nikki nodded and cuddled into her brother's chest, falling asleep after about five minutes.

Paul sighed as he looked down at her. "I can't wait for school to start, then she will be safe there, and not a home alone with my mom," he whispered, hoping not to wake her up.

"Has this happened before?" I asked quietly.

Paul nodded, "she used to hit me instead of her. Before I started to phase, I was scrawny and little, so she would take it out on me. I was fine with that, just so Nikki wouldn't get hurt. Then everything started happening and I started to work and hang out with Sam..." his voice trailed off. "I feel so helpless to her, I hate leaving her alone with my mom. When my dad is there, it isn't as bad but he is constantly working to make any money he can."

I reached over Nikki and gently touched Paul's face, he closed his eyes and leaned into my hand. "If you need me to watch her anytime, just bring her over, okay?" He nodded, eyes still closed. Paul's long arm slid around my back and pulled me closer to him and Nikki.

I smiled as I continued to caress his cheek. This all felt so perfect, I felt more complete right now with Nikki and Paul than I had since my mom died. He soon fell back into a peaceful sleep and I watched happily. This is how I wanted to spend the rest of my life, here in Paul's arms.

**Did I mention that I really love this story. Usually it takes me a long time to write chapters, but the past few have been incredibly easy to write. Maybe because I love it so damn much! haha. **

**How was everyone's Halloween? Mine was okay, being away from my family for the first time on Halloween was really hard. We are like the Halloween family, and not being able to be with them during the holiday was really hard lol. I'm a nerd oh well... it was my first case of homesickness so I think I'm dong alright. I saw Saw V, it was pretty good. pretty nasty lol. Tell me about your Halloweens! I would love to hear your stories!**

**I LOVE ALL THE REVIEWS!!!!! 13 for the last chapter! That makes me so so happy, you have no idea. Please keep it up!**

**I love you all... fanfiction keeps me sane in this crazy world of college.**

** Maddi**


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own anything

Chapter 10

"My heart hurts, Rach," Jacob said as he picked at a hangnail that sat on his thumb.

I smiled sympathetically, rubbing his back. "It's okay, Jake. You'll find the right girl, I promise."

Jacob scoffed and rested his head on the table. "Easy for you to say, you found Paul. You're set for life with an okay guy who loves you. The one girl I love is probably on some private yacht taking in her last breaths as a human being." I swear that I heard a low growl escape from my brother's throat.

"He has a yacht?" I asked as I got up from my seat next to my brother and moved to the stove, stirring the pot of ground beef that sat on it, adding in seasoning as I moved the spoon.

"Probably, they are loaded. You should have seen what they did to their house for that wedding. Alice, Edward's sister, probably spent more money on that wedding than Dad did when he bought this house," my brother said, banging his head lightly on the table. "It was semi-ridiculous."

"Hey, cheer up and quit moping, that wedding was a week ago. Now I know you're hungry and I made your favorite." I said as I pulled out taco shells, cheese, lettuce, and sour cream.

Jake's head popped up. "You're the best sister, ever," he got up from the table and kissed me brotherly on the forehead. "I'll go let Dad know that dinner is ready." My brother was back moments later, my dad wheeling in behind him.

I set up a plate for my dad and sat it in front of him. "Rachel, I appreciate that you come over and make food for us, but I think I can handle dishing it out for myself," he said rolling his eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders and bit into my taco. Jake finished off his first and was quickly onto his second, sloppily shoving the food into his mouth. "Where's Paul tonight?" my dad asked quietly.

"Work," Jake and I replied at the same time.

I grinned to myself. "He's coming over here tonight to watch the Mariner's game. I think Nikki is coming too."

Jacob looked up at me knowingly. "His sister Nikki?" I nodded silently. "That's cool, I guess. She's a cute kid, Dad. You will love her."

He nodded, and I agreed silently with Jake, my dad would love her. "Have you talked to _your_ sister lately?" my dad asked as he finished his plate and moved to get more food.

I nodded. "I talked to her before I got here. Her- uh, she and Rick are fighting again." My sister opted to not go to college after high school and decided to move in with her boyfriend, who had promised to marry her. We have yet to see this happen.

"What do you mean fighting? Like not getting along?" Jacob asked, wanting to know more information. I shrugged. Rebecca told me not to tell them anything and I had already blown that. If Jake and my dad knew the truth, Rick would be dead.

"Rachel, if something is wrong, we should know about it," my dad said firmly.

My eyes fell to my food as I pushed it around my plate. "I think she will be fine. They have fought before and everything turns out okay. This is probably the same deal." Silence took over the table as we ate our food.

I looked up as the phone rang, "that's her." I said quietly. My mom always said we were each other's six sense. We always knew when something was wrong or right with the other. Or when we were calling or visiting. Rebecca probably had a feeling I was here and probably didn't even try calling my apartment.

"Hello?" Jacob asked. He then looked at me and rolled his eyes, indicating that I was right. "Yeah, here she is." I hopped up from my seat and grabbed the phone.

"What's up?" I felt my stomach fall the way it usually does when my sister was about to tell me something bad happened.

"I'm pregnant," she said quietly.

My jaw dropped and I looked at my dad and brother who were staring at me. I grabbed the cord of the phone and stretched it into the living room. "Why is this a bad thing?"

"How did you know it was a bad thing?" Rebecca questioned.

"I am having that feeling. And why didn't you tell me anything when we talked earlier? I knew something was going on," I said, thinking back to our conversation before.

I heard her sob and my heart broke. "I needed to make sure before I told you. Oh Rach, Rick is going to be so pissed! He always said that he didn't want any kids."

"Have you told him yet?" I asked, turning on the television to try to distract Dad and Jacob from hearing me.

"No! You know what will happen if I tell him, Rach. I can't do that." My mind flashed back to Nikki's bruises on her body and I inhaled sharply when I thought of that happening to my sister, my best friend. "He's home, I have to go," she whispered into the phone.

"You have to promise me that you will call me if anything happens. Good or bad? Got it?" I demanded.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Promise me, Rebecca," I said firmly.

"Okay, I promise. I love you, Rachel. Tell Dad and Jake that I love them too... and, uh, let them know about the news, I guess," she said quietly. I heard Rick yelling in the background.

"I love you too, Becks-" she hung up the phone before I could said bye and I sighed. Running my hands though my hair, I placed a fake smile on my face and walked into the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Jacob asked rudely.

I put the phone back on the hook and turned to them, still smiling. Truthfully, I was happy for my sister. I knew she always wanted kids when we were younger and only changed her opinion because of her asshole boyfriend. Plus, I was excited to be an aunt.

"I have some awesome news," I announced, grinning. They looked at me eagerly. "Rebecca is going to have a baby."

My dad's eyes sparkled in the dim light of the kitchen. "Really?" He smiled as the information sunk in. "I'm going to be a grandpa?"

I nodded and Jake grinned at us. "Sweet! I'm going to be the coolest uncle." His eyes darkened after a second. "What did Retard Rick have to say about it? I thought he didn't want to have babies."

"Jacob, don't call him that," my dad scolded, still in high spirits about being a future grandfather.

Looking back at Jacob, I tried to answer his question without sounding as nervous as I was. "Uh, nothing yet. He walked in the door right as she was getting off the phone with me," I said quietly. "But I'm sure he will be thrilled, I mean, who wouldn't?" I quickly added.

"He's a tool," Jake said simply and my dad shook his head at him. "What? He is." I smirked in agreement with him.

"You should be happy for your sister and trust in the choices she makes with her life," my dad said as he moved into the living room to turn on the game. My heart jumped in excitement, knowing Paul would be here soon. Even with everything with my sister, I knew I could rely on Paul to put a smiled on my face. "She was fully accepting of you leaving town a few weeks ago, Jacob," my dad pointed out from the other room.

"He's still a tool," Jake said as he took all the plates off the table and placed them in the sink. "Paul's here," he said as he nodded his head out the window, seeing Paul's truck turn into the driveway.

My smile grew and I quickly walked to the front porch. Nikki hopped out of the large vehicle and leapt into my arms.

"Rachel! I missed you!" she said as she hugged me tightly. "I have something to show you!"

"Really? What is it?" I said looking down at her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a very tired looking Paul walking towards the porch.

The little girl opened her mouth and pointed at one of her bottom teeth. She gently touched it and it wiggled in its place. "I'm gonna lose my second tooth!"

"That is really cool, sweetheart. You should go show Jacob, he is right inside." I said putting her down onto the porch and she ran into the house to show my brother her loose tooth. My eyes fell on Paul, who was slouching against the house with a small smile on his face.

"Hey, there," I said quietly, walking towards him. Paul stepped towards me and wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me almost as tightly as his sister had been. "You okay?"

He took a deep breath and pulled back, lightly pressing his warm lips onto mine. "I feel better now." Paul traced his fingers under my eyes. "What about you?"

I shrugged lightly. "My sister is pregnant."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Paul asked skeptically.

"We'll see, I guess." I pulled him back to my body, breathing in his scent deeply. "Her boyfriend..."

"Oh yeah, I remember Jacob saying something about him," Paul said as he kissed the top of my head repeatedly. "She will be okay though, right?"

"I hope so. She is going to call if anything happens. I have a bad feeling about all of this, and that is never a good thing when it comes to her," I said into his hard chest. "I'm worried about her."

"If anything happens, we will all be here to help you guys with it, okay?" He said, his dark eyes looking into mine.

"Okay," I said nodding slightly. Breathing in once more, I pulled out of his warm embrace. "Thank you, Paul."

He grinned down at me, "for what?"

"Just being here," I said softly as I took his hand and led him into the house.

Paul raised my chin with his pointer finger. "We're in this together. You help me with my family, and I help you with yours. I should be thanking you," he said kissing me lightly before leading me into the house.

We walked into the living room where Nikki was sitting on Jacob's lap showing him her loose tooth and my dad was watching the game intently.

"I don't know why I watch this team. They are god awful," my dad said to no one in particular. I wasn't watching the television, my brain was focused on the telephone. Rebecca would call back tonight and I was worried as to what she would be saying.

I sat as they watched the game, staring at the phone. Paul nudged me and draped his arm over my shoulders. "Everything will be okay," he kissed my temple soothingly. Nodding, I leaned into his warm embrace, ignoring the looks from my family around me.

The phone rang and I leapt out of my seat. I felt almost... happy? This happiness threw me off, I was so terrified that Rick would hurt her when he found out. "What happened?" I asked into the speaker, anxiously wondering if she told her boyfriend.

"I'm coming home, Rach," my sister said nervously, as if she was out of breath.

I smiled selfishly, I missed my sister everyday, and having her back would be awesome. "Is everything okay with Rick?"

A soft sniffle escaped from her. "Not particularly. He left."

My heart hurt for her and I looked up for the first time to see that I had a crowd around me. "Do you need any help moving?"

"No I'm not bringing much, I'm already half done with packing," she said quietly. "I just want to get home."

"Well we can't wait to see you, honey," I said honestly. We hung up shortly after and my dad was smiling brightly.

"All my babies are coming home to me," he said, his eyes glistening with tears. We all smiled at him, feeling his happiness.

"Ahh! Paulie!" Nikki yelled from the living room and Paul sprinted to her.

"What's wrong, Nick?" he said, checking her over. I almost felt his heart drop as a small amount blood covered her lips and hands.

The little girl opened her mouth, and there was a little gab between her teeth. "Does the tooth fairy still come if you swallow the tooth?" she asked, a small lisp was heard in the voice.

We laughed and Paul pulled her into his long arms. "Sure, sweetheart, sure."

**I'm so sorry. I had a test last week and I was sort of depressed. lol. I am extremely homesick right now and I found the story getting depressing and I didn't want to add anything else to this already drama-filled story. **

**And Penn State lost to effing Iowa last weekend. boo boo boo. They won yesterday so that's good I guess lol. **

**I loved hearing about your Halloweens! OH! How about the reviews for the past chapter! So SO awesome, 18 reviews!!! That's so great, and I love you all for it.**

**Keep it up please!**

**Mainly Maddi loves all her readers :)**


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own anything

Chapter 11

"Rachel, when is your sister getting here?" Nikki asked from her seat on my couch. She had become a constant fixture at my house while Paul was working with Sam.

"Soon, about a half hour I think," I was changing the sheets in the extra bedroom of my small apartment. I had recently moved my old twin bed to my apartment, which Nikki slept in when she and Paul stayed here. My sister probably would not appreciate the purple Hannah Montana sheets that were currently covering the bed.

Nikki skipped into the room and onto the bed, which now had green sheets with a white comforter. "I liked the Hannah one better."

I smiled at her and laid on the bed next to her. "I liked those ones better too, they were cheaper." I folded the Disney ones and placed them in the small closet.

"Does your sister look like you? Since your twins?" Nikki asked as she played with a string that hung from her jean shorts.

"Yup, identical twins."

"What if Paulie can't tell the difference between you?" I wasn't sure what to tell her. Since last night I had been worried that Paul wouldn't be able to tell us apart. What if he imprinted on her too, because she looked just like me? Can werewolves even imprint on two girls? "I bet he will be able to tell," Nikki said as the string came loose on her pants and fell to the ground.

"I hope so, girlie. Want to help me make some lunch, I'm sure that Becca will be hungry. Plus, your brother will be home soon, and we both know that he is always hungry."

Nikki jumped up and nodded. "Can I stir everything together?"

"Sure, sure." I smiled as I followed her out to my kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, we were just getting finished making lunch when a familiar feeling spread through my heart. "Becca's almost here." I smiled at Nikki and set her up with some food at the table.

"Her car is not here, how do you know?" Nikki asked as she stared out the window. Seconds later a beat up car turned into the apartment's lot and I smiled brightly.

My sister barely made it out of her car before I threw myself into her arms. "Becks, I've missed you so much!"

Rebecca hugged me tightly and grinned over my shoulder. "Did you have a daughter in the past year that I was not informed of?"

I let go of her and turned around to see Nikki standing in the doorway. "No, this is Nikki, Paul's little sister. Nick, this is my sister, Rebecca." Nikki shyly waved at us as we started to walk towards the door.

"She does look a lot like you, Rachel. I still think Paulie will be able to tell though," Nikki said as she ran back into the kitchen to finish her food.

"Where your favorite teenager?" Rebecca teased as she looked around my apartment.

"I will choose to ignore that comment. He is working, he should be back soon," I sat down on the couch in my living room.

"Is everything okay with his sister?" Becca asked quietly. I had told her about Paul's mom and Nikki's situation soon after the little girl started to spend most of her days at my house.

"Yup. Everything is actually pretty great, but you stole her bed." I grinned as Nikki came back into the room with a pen and a paper, setting herself up on the couch.

Rebecca's eyes widened as she laughed at me. "So you really are playing house with the teenager, huh?"

"Just wait until you see him, he doesn't look like a teenager. Paul looks like he could be older than us," I pointed out to her.

"I like playing house," Nikki said, not looking up from her drawing.

"So does Rachel, apparently," Rebecca laughed and I threw a pillow at her.

At that moment, Paul walked in, and my heart stopped beating as he looked from me to my sister. His face broke into a smile as he looked at my twin. "You must be Rebecca, Rachel has told me all about you." I let out a deep breath as Paul walked over to his sister, kissing her on the top of her head before doing the same to me. "Did you just get here?"

Rebecca seemed to be in a bit of shock. "Uh, yeah. Just a few minutes ago. You're really only nineteen?" Paul nodded and I gave my sister an 'I-told-you-so' look. "Hmm, no wonder she likes playing house with you."

"Becca!" my face turned red in embarrassment.

Paul stifled a laugh and shook his head. "Do you have any bags in your car that need brought in?"

"Oh yeah, but I can get then, don't worry about it," my sister said glancing out the window to see the rain falling from the sky.

"Nah, it's raining, I'll get them. Where are your keys?" Rebecca pulled them out of her pocket and tossed them at Paul who caught then and walked out the door.

"Why am I letting you stay here again?" I asked as I placed my head in my hands.

Rebecca pulled me into her arms laughing. "Because you love me, Rach."

"Does this stuff go in Nikki's room?" Paul asked as he walked back into the apartment holding all of Rebecca's stuff.

"Holy sh-cow, you're a strong guy," Becca said as she watched Paul carry her bags away.

Nikki crawled up onto the couch next to me and laid her head on my arm. "Rachel, where am I going to sleep when we have sleepovers now?"

"I guess you will be sleeping with me and Paul until Rebecca finds an apartment," I said wrapping my arm around her. I heard Paul groan from the hallway. My sister looks over at me and mouthed 'slut'. It felt like we were back in high school, nothing had changed. Rebecca hadn't moved away and fallen for that jerk. I hadn't gone to college and thrown myself into my schoolwork. We were the same teenagers that just graduated high school.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Don't worry, Nick. We will figure it out." Nikki nodded and slipped back onto the floor, getting back to her drawing.

"Are we going over to Dad's tonight?" Becca asked as she stretched her back.

"Yup," I looked over at Paul, who had sat down on the couch next to me. "You and Nikki are welcome too."

He surprised me by shaking his head. "I think we can manage for one night without you, Rach," he said the words like they were physically painful for him. We hadn't spent the night apart in weeks, and I started to worry about how I would sleep at night in an empty bed.

"Oh, okay. Well you're not leaving yet, right?" I looked up at him, hoping he would stay longer. I hated to admit that I was quickly becoming someone who can't stand to be away from their significant other. Paul and Nikki had become a huge part of my life, and being away from them, even for a few hours, was extremely hard for me.

Paul placed his hand on my knee and smiled. "Not if you don't want us to leave."

My sister grinned. "You can't leave yet, I haven't even gotten to interrogate you about dating my best friend."

"Why am I more afraid of her than I am of Jacob?" Paul whispered in my ear and I giggled.

"You probably should be..." I said back.

"Let's go on a walk, kiddo," Rebecca said, grinning at Paul. He looked at me and my face matched my sisters. Becca got up and held the door open for him. Paul's eyes pleaded with me and I just kissed him on the cheek and nudged him towards the door.

Nikki hopped up onto the couch where Paul sat previously. She was holding her drawing to her chest and smiling at me. "Rachel, I drew a picture for your frigerator."

"Let's see it, Nick," I pulled her closer to me, wrapping my arm around her little shoulders. Nikki placed the piece of paper in my hand and my heart stopped. The picture was of three people one little one, a girl. Another, middle sized girl, and one extremely tall boy were holding hands and smiling.

"It's me, you, and Paulie," Nikki said proudly. "Do you like it?"

My face broke into a wide smile. "I love it, honey." I felt tears building in my eyes and I kissed her on the forehead. "How about you run and put that on my refrigerator, you know where the magnets are."

Nikki hugged me again before skipping off into my small kitchen to put up her drawing. My heart pounded and I wiped away the tears from my eyes.

Paul and Rebecca walked back in seconds later laughing at something one of them said. Concern washed over Paul's face as he saw me on the couch. "Rach, what's wrong?" He sat next to me and pulled me into his warm body.

"Nothing. Everything is awesome," I smiled through my watery eyes and sniffled again. "How was your talk?"

"You're sure everything is okay?" Paul asked again. I nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "Okay... our talk was interesting."

"Oh god, what did you say to him?" I looked to my sister, who was grinning evilly.

"I just asked him some basic questions," she said, smirking at us.

Paul snorted a laugh. "Is 'what type of steroids do you take?' a basic question these days?"

"Dude, you're like seven feet tall, and jacked," Rebecca said poking Paul's large muscles. "I also asked about your little sleepovers." She watched as my and Paul's faces turned red. "Paul didn't need to say much about that one, his face told a pretty interesting story.

"I bet," I said, covering my face with my hands.

Nikki ran back into the room and jumped onto Paul's lap. "I love when we have sleepovers, they are my favorite nights."

"We better get going, Nikki. Rachel and Rebecca have to go see their daddy," Paul said picking up his sister and throwing her over his shoulder. "Give Rach a hug," Nikki hugged me from her place on Paul's back and waved good bye to my sister. Paul turned around and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rachel" Paul waved at Rebecca and carried his sister out the door.

Rebecca walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. "That boy is head over heals in love with you, Rachel, even if he is a baby."

I nodded and jumped up, "speaking of that! How is your baby?" I rubbed my sisters stomach softly and she smiled.

"Good, but this baby's hungry, let's go over to Dad's," she linked arms with me and walked to the door. "I bet that old man is wondering where I've been."

"He is so happy your coming home, he misses having all of us around," I said, leaning my head on her shoulder.

"I miss him too. It's good to be home," she said, opening the passenger side door.

I nodded and slipped into the driver side, "I know how you feel," I pulled out of my driveway with a smile on my face. With my old family and my new one, La Push was always going to be my home.

**So this is a little late. School sucks I am so sorry!**

**Who saw twilight? Who laughed when Edward's skin made a noise? Who LOVED the baseball game? lol I like the movie for the most part. **

**Okay back to the story, Becca's home! woot! hmm... I don't really have much else to say**

**Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers... Happy Thursday to everyone else! I love all of you and am thankful for all of you :)**

**Thank you for every reader and every review, I love them!**

**Mainly Maddison :)**


	12. Chapter 12

I don't own anything

Chapter 12

"Jesus Christ, Jacob. What the hell are they feeding you boys?" Rebecca asked as Jacob enveloped her in his warm arms. He lifted her up and kissed her sweetly on the cheek.

"I told you Paul wasn't on steroids..." I said to my sister as I pulled out pots and pans from my dad's cupboards.

Rebecca snorted. "I still think they are on something. I don't remember the boys being this huge when I was in high school. Hey, where's Daddy?" She looked around the small kitchen and smiled with my dad yelled in from the kitchen.

"Is that my little girl?" my dad wheeled out into the kitchen where Becca bounced onto his lap like she was a kid again and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "I missed you, Becks."

"I missed you too, Dad. It actually feels a lot better than I thought it would, being home."

My dad nodded, still smiling brightly. "You three have no idea how happy it makes me to see you all in this kitchen." We glanced at each other quickly before looking back to my dad. He took at deep breath and turned to me. "What's for dinner, Rach? Because we all know Rebecca isn't cooking."

Becca playfully smacked my dad. "Hey, Rachie got mom's talents and I got yours. Don't judge me because I can't cook. I know for a fact that before she came back, you and Jake were eating mac and cheese on any night that Sue Clearwater wasn't here to cook for you."

Dad shook his head and smiled at us again. "Rachel, dear, what is for dinner?" I rolled my eyes and turned to the stove, beginning my cooking adventure for the night.

Many hours later, we were finishing our dinner and talking around the small table. "How long are you staying, Becca?" Jake asked as he inhaled the last of the food I made.

My sister shrugged. "Depends. I need to figure it out quick though, I was informed today that I have stolen a certain someone's twin sized bed."

I choked on my water and my dad looked up at Rebecca, then to me. "Is Paul sleeping in your twin sized bed at your apartment, Rachel?"

"Oops?" Rebecca smirked at me and I glared at her.

"Dad, you know about Paul's situation. He and Nick sleep over sometimes... That's why I moved the bed over there."

This time Jacob snorted the pop he was drinking. "Sometimes, Rach?" He and Rebecca were ganging up on me. "Are you sure it's not, like, every night of the week?"

My dad cleared his throat and all three of us looked to him. "Your sister is old enough to make her own decisions. You two, of all people, should not be making fun of her."

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad," I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"What do you think of Paul, Dad?" Rebecca asked, still grinning at me as I rolled my eyes.

Dad cleared his throat. "Paul has done a complete one-eighty since meeting Rachel. He used to be so angry and easily irritated, but now he is calm, especially around Rach. She has brought out the best in that boy," he took a long sip of his water and winked at me.

"So you like him?" Rebecca prodded again.

My dad nodded. "If he makes my little girl happy, it's all I can ask for. Like I said before, she is old enough to make her own decisions, and if Paul is one of them, I am happy for her."

I smiled to myself as I grabbed everyone's plates and placed them in the sink. "Speaking of making our own decisions, I should get the pregnant woman home. It's far past her bedtime."

Rebecca glared at me but nodded. "The good twin's right. I'm tired as hell." She got up from her seat and kissed Jacob and Dad on the forehead. "I love you both. I will see you soon, promise."

We linked arms and walked out the door. "I'm so so happy you're home, Becks. Dad is too. Plus he is ecstatic about being a grandpa."

She yawned and nodded. "I missed you all too. Just being around all of you makes my life happier. You were right though, it was so weird being in that house without mom there. I felt like she was about to walk in and tell you that adding a pinch of salt to the pot would add flavor, or something like that."

I didn't say anything as I got in the car, and the comfortable silence continued as we drove to my house.

"I'm just gonna head to bed, Rach." Rebecca leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, hugging me tightly. "Night."

"Night," I said quietly as I looked around my house. I missed Paul. My heart was hurting, physically hurting, knowing that I would have to attempt to sleep alone tonight. "You're such a loser, Rachel. Go to bed." I whispered to myself.

I shook my head and walked into my bedroom. Changing into my usual shorts and a tank top, I climbed into my strangely cold bed. Shivers rippled through my body as I tried to keep myself warm. My personal heater wasn't here tonight. I groaned as I got out of my bed and pulled on Paul's thick hoodie from high school and a pair of sweatpants.

Climbing back in bed, I still felt cold. For the second time, I threw my thin sheets back and moved out to my hallway, opening the closet and pulling out an old quilt and my comforter, which was never needed with Paul there. I felt so hopeless. Paul and I had been dating for less than two months and I couldn't stop thinking about him, missing him, wanting him...

I laid down again with my heavy clothing and layers of blankets. Sighing, I glanced at the red numbers on my digital clock. We had stayed at my dad's until past midnight. After tossing and turning for another hour in the cold, I groaned and stared at the ceiling.

A sound outside my window made me jump. When the wooden frame moved up I yelped and fell out of my bed, hiding behind the mattress.

"Rach?" my favorite deep, husky voice asked nervously into the cold room. "Are you okay?"

My head jerked up, and my face lit up as I looked into Paul's brown eyes. "Paul! What are you doing here?" My eye's fell to his shirtless chest and a sigh escaped my lips.

He smiled sheepishly as he closed my window silently. "I missed you too much to fall asleep." I sat back up on my bed and Paul fell next to me. "Why aren't you sleeping, its almost two in the morning, I know for a fact that you never stay up this late."

"I couldn't sleep, it was cold and lonely," I said, scooting closer to him. "Why didn't you use your key?" I was still trying to catch my breath from his scare.

"I forgot it at home," he said quietly as he pulled me into his arms, I sighed at the instant heat he provided. "What's with all the blankets?"

"I was freezing," I whispered a I pressed my cold body into his warm one. He sighed contently as his lips met mine. "Is Nikki gonna be alright?"

Paul nodded. "Yeah, my dad is there, so he will be able to hold down the fort for the night." Paul ran his hand down my face, causing a heat wave to run through my body. "I hate to sound like a perv, but you are wearing far too much clothing right now."

I grinned and slowly stripped off the large hoodie before taking my time removing the sweatpants. Paul moaned softy as my bare legs and arms wrapped around his torso. "Did I mention that I missed you?" he breathed into my neck, causing a different type of goosebump to rise on my skin.

"I think you might have," I reached up and pressed my lips to his, grinning when he moaned again. "I missed you too, a lot."

Paul flipped me over so that I was beneath his hot body. "I can see that," he ran his hands under my shirt and I immediately lift my arms, allowing him to slip it off. We moaned together as our skin touched. "I love you, Rachel."

I brought my hand up to his face and caressed it lightly. "I love you too, Paul."

"Hey, Rach, what do you want for -- you whore," my eyes snapped open and I pulled the sheet up to my chin, covering my still naked body. Rebecca stood in the doorway, smirking at Paul and I as we lay in my bed. "Good Morning, Paul."

He waved at my sister as he tightened the sheet that covered his lower half. Rebecca didn't make any indiction that she was moving anytime soon as she looked around the room, her smirk widening as she saw our clothes scattered around the floor, along with the heavy blankets that had been discarded from my bed.

"Uh, Becks, can you give us a minute..." I asked as I looked at my sister through pleading eyes.

"Sure, sure," she said as she stifled a laugh. "I'll be in the kitchen whenever you two decide to get dressed." She went to close the door before poking her head back in. "I was actually gonna hop in the shower, or were you two planning on getting one?"

"Rebecca!" I hid my face in my pillow as she snickered at us again.

"What? I was just wondering..." she winked at me before closing my bedroom door.

I rolled my eyes for what seemed like the millionth time as she shut the door. Paul looked over to me, attempting to hide his grin. "I can't believe your sister caught us in bed."

I giggled slightly. "Better mine than yours though, right?"

Paul barked a laugh and pulled me onto his lap. "Very right." He leaned back against the headboard of my bed and I rested my head on his shoulder. "You are so beautiful." His hand brushed a stray hair out of my eyes.

"So are you," I said, smiling up at him. He leaned down and softly kissed my lips, causing me to sigh happily. I ran my hands through his short hair, pulling him closer to me.

Paul groaned and pulled back frowning. "If you keep this up, we will not be getting out of this bed anytime soon."

I grinned flirtatiously at him. "Why would we ever want to get out of this bed?" I asked jokingly.

He laughed again, my smile growing larger at the sound. "What a great question." Paul lifted my body and laid me on the bed, quickly leaning down over my. "Did I mention that I love you?" he asked softly.

My body turned to jelly underneath him. "I love you too," I whispered as he leaned down to kiss me. At this rate, we were never getting out of bed, and I was completely fine with that.

**Wow, I finished this chapter quiiick. Today is Monday, I will probably post this tomorrow. You asked for a little fluff, so I tried to deliver. lol. I wish I had a big, warm werewolf to warm me up in these cold dorms! Lucky Rachellll**

**Okay so there has been some questions about someone imprinting on Rebecca... I wouldn't mind, but I am just wondering if you think it would be too much for the story? **

**SOOO when you review, tell me, Should Rebecca be imprinted on? And maybe who should imprint on her? Even though if she does get imprinted, I have someone in mind haha. Let me know!! Your opinions are what really matter to me, I write to please you guys lol.**

**I love you guys so much!**

**Maddi :)**

**PS. Tuesday is my birthday! So give me a review as a present, kay? haha, just kidding, but really, review. lol**


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own anything

Chapter 13

"I think I found one," Rebecca said, sitting at my small dining table, looking at the newspaper. I looked up at her and pulled the paper out of her hand, reading the circled advertisement. "It's like yours sort of, but on the other side of La Push. You know, with the extra room for the baby..."

"You should be looking in the help wanted section instead of apartments. You know you're welcome to stay here until you get enough money to get the apartment, and pay for food and the baby. I hear they are pretty expensive things to have," I said sipping my coffee.

She rubbed her growing belly and grinned at me. "But they are so cute, though." I laughed and nodded. "Speaking of cute, when is Paul and that adorable little sister of his coming over?"

I tried hard to contain my smile as I glanced at the small digital clock on the stove. "After lunch. They try to spend some mornings with their parents... it's not as bad then, I guess. But he might bring her over earlier, he is some kind of meeting at work."Sam had called Paul last night and told him to meet him and the rest of the pack today. They had to discuss the Cullen's for some reason.

Rebecca nodded sadly, hating what Paul and Nikki have to go through to be with their mom when she was sober. She sighed and looked back to the paper. "Hmm... maybe I can get a job in Forks. It's not all that far away. Port Angeles will be okay if it really comes to that."

"Dad is friends with Charlie Swan, remember him? He is the chief in Forks. Maybe you can get a job there, like as a receptionist or something..." I said, getting up from the table.

Her eyes lit up. "I remember Charlie! Hey, that's a good idea. I'm going to go over to Dad's and see if he will help me out." She sat up and placed her plate of food and orange juice in the sink. "I'll see you later, Rach. Call me if you need some, uh, time with Paul."

I glared at her and threw a grape at her head as she skipped out the door. I cleaned up my kitchen and by the time I was done it was eleven-thirty. Biting my lip, I tried again to hide my excitement to see Paul. He slept over last night, and I still missed him. The drawing of my new little family hung on my refrigerator, and my smiled exploded as I looked at it. Once I had more money, I would frame that picture and hang it somewhere for everyone to see.

I jumped up when two warm arms wrapped around my waist from behind me. "Hey, I was just thinking about you," I said turning around to face Paul's smiling face.

He leaned down at kissed me sweetly on the lips, sighing quietly. "I missed you."

"It's been, what? Five hours?" I said giggling.

His lips moved down my neck, peppering kissed on my throat and he chuckled deeply. "Five hours too long."

I sighed into his arms. "I missed you too."

Nikki stumbled into the room, yawning widly. "Good morning, Rachel." She walked over to Paul and he lifted her into his large arms, pecking her on the forehead.

I rubbed her back and kissed her on the other cheek. "Morning, sweetie. Your beds empty if you want to get some more sleep. I'll make sure Rebecca doesn't come in." She nodded and Paul let her down. The little girl hobbled down the hallway towards the room that she had claimed.

Paul lifted me onto the kitchen counter immediately and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I draped my arms over his broad shoulders and kissed him lightly on the lips. "When is your meeting?" I asked breathily.

He groaned. "Twenty minutes," he rested his forehead against mine, rubbing his warm nose on my cold one.

"What could we do with fifteen minutes?" I asked suggestively, giggling again. Gently biting his earlobe, he shivered involuntarily, causing me to grin.

"What ever you want, baby," his voice deeper than usual, this time sending chills through my body. Paul continued to kiss my neck, sucking on it softly.

I moaned quietly and pulled his lips to mine. Rolling my tongue against his, another moan vibrated through throat. My fingers laced through his growing hair and he moaned again. "We can't, Nikki will hear," I whispered, not being able to find my voice.

"I know," he said softly, pulling away from my lips to kiss my eye lids. "We can keep doing this though, if you want to."

I laughed and licked my lips before tightening my hold on his body, pulling him forward. "Like I wouldn't want to..."

"Hey, Rach, is Paul here? Oh my god," Jacob said as he shielded his eyes and turned around. "What the hell, Paul!"

Paul and I both groaned in irritation and Paul moved away from me. I looked up at Jacob who was peeking through his fingers at us. "Uh, hey, Jake," Paul said grinning.

Jacob rolled his eyes and looked over to me before glaring back at Paul. "What the hell did you do to her?" Jake jumped at Paul and tackled him to the ground.

He got one good punch on before I attempted to pull my brother off of my boyfriend. Jacob went to shove me away, but Paul growled and pinned him to the ground. "Do not touch her," his voice lower than I had ever heard it.

"Oh, please. Look at that thing on her neck," he pointed at me as he through Paul off of him. "I bet that was comfortable. God only knows where else you... marked her. Next thing, I will walk in on you having sex, thank god you aren't into that phase of your relationship yet."

We both choked on the air we were breathing and Jacob jumped at Paul again. I hoped in front of my boyfriend and both of them froze. "No more fighting. My sex life, at the age of twenty-one, is not your business, Jake."

Jacob smacked Paul's head. "I cannot believe you are having sex with my sister. How did you even keep that from me and everyone else in the pack."

Paul shrugged. "You never asked." Jacob scoffed and sat down at my table, placing his head in his hands.

My eyes moved from Jacob to Paul. "Paul, you're bleeding," I said, placing my hand on his cheek.

"I'm fine, Rach," he said, running his hand over my neck. Paul chuckled slightly. "Sorry about that."

I grabbed a silver pan and held it up to my neck, using it as a mirror. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. "Jesus, Paul."

Jacob threw his hands in the air. "That's what I'm saying," he scoffed loudly.

"Shut up, Jacob. Nikki is sleeping, so be quiet," I said pulling an ice cube out of my freezer and placing it on my neck. I also grabbed a wet wash cloth and pressed it against Paul's fully healed face. "Let me clean the blood off your face," I glared at Jacob again and he glared at me.

"Jacob, glare at her again, and I will rip out your eyes," Paul growled again. I looked at Paul meaningfully and he shook his head. "Sorry, Rach. My protective genes have taken over," he reached over and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

"Ew, please do not. We have to leave anyways, Paul. We are already super late," my brother pull on Paul's elbow, who shrugged him off quickly.

"I'll be right out, I've got to kiss my girlfriend good-bye if that's alright," Paul said, grinning at me. Jacob pretended to gag and walked out the door. "I love you, Rach. I will be back soon." He kissed me sweetly on the forehead and lips before following my brother out the door.

"I love you too," I said softly, knowing he couldn't hear me.

I sighed and moved onto my couch and rubbed my neck lightly. I secretly didn't mind the mark on my neck, but I don't think my dad would feel the same way.

"Rach, I got the job! Oh god..." Rebecca said, walking into my living room. "What are you, sixteen?"

"It's not all that bad, is it?" I asked, pulling up the hood against my neck.

She laughed out loud. "Remember when I got my first hickey! Dad flipped shit. It wasn't even half the size of that thing on your neck."

"Ugh, you sound like Jacob," I said, running my hands through my hair, trying to hid the large mark again. "And you were fifteen when that boy basically sucked your neck off."

Rebecca gaped at me. "Jake saw it? And Paul is still living?"

"Barely, he tackled him in the kitchen, I thought it would wake up Nikki. She is sleeping in her bed right now, just FYI." Becca nodded and sat down on the couch next to me. "So you got a job?"

My sister nodded quickly. "Charlie said they were looking for someone to organize all the files and answer phones and stuff. Plus it is full time, so I will be making a good amount of money."

"That sounds pretty great, when do you start?"

"Tomorrow, I can't wait," Rebecca said excitedly, which surprised me. She wasn't one to want to work or do anything. Maybe this baby will be a good thing for her.

Loud howling made us both jump towards eachother. "What the hell was that?" Rebecca asked quietly.

"Wolves," I whispered. "Somethings wrong. I- I'm gonna lock the doors real quick."

"From wolves?" Becca questioned me with a strange expression on her face.

"No, from whatever the wolves are howling at," I said matter-of-factly. She nodded and got up to lock the from door as I moved to the side to latch the one in the kitchen.

"What's goin' on, Rachel?" said a very tired Nikki who crept out from the hallway.

"Nothing, sweetie, want to watch a movie?" I said, thinking on my toes. I had to make sure Nikki was okay. What if they were after a vampire? What if someone was hurt?

Nikki nodded and hopped up onto the couch between Rebecca and I. Rebecca got up and put in Finding Nemo, and Nikki quickly sat in my lap and fell back to sleep.

"She's tired today," Rebecca said quietly, running her hand through Nikki's long, dark hair.

I nodded and rested my hand on her forehead. "She has a fever. It's not too hot though. Maybe she is just warm from her bed." I shifted so that she laid in my arms comfortably and turned my eyes to the movie.

About forty-five minutes into the movie, I heard the lock on my door turn and Paul walked in looking worried. "Hey, Rach, can I talk to you... uh, outside."

"Sure," I shifted Nikki's weight off of me and she quickly curled into the couch. "I think Nikki's sick..." Paul bit his lip and nodded, holding the door open for me. "Is everything okay? Is someone hurt?"

"No, no one's hurt," he ran his hands through his hair nervously.

"What's going on..." fear pumped through my body, was Paul leaving me? "Are we okay?" I slowly reached up to brush the hair from his eyes.

His body sagged. "Of course we are okay, no it's nothing about that. I will always be here for you, Rach. You know that, no matter what happens with the pack, or your family, I'm here for you," he held up my chin and looked into my eyes honestly.

"What happened?" I asked again.

"It's Jake," Paul whispered as he stared at me.

My eye's widened. "Is he okay?"

"I- I don't know. He left the pack, he's gone," Paul said quietly, as if he was still confused as to what happened.

"Like before? He will come back, right?"

Paul shrugged his shoulders. "It isn't like before. He somehow... I don't know how to explain it. He separated himself from all of us."

I looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure... You, and Jacob, and your dad and sister... you're all direct decedents to Ephraim Black, who was the last known chief of the Quileute Tribe. I think that Jacob was supposed to be the Alpha, but Sam phased first. So Jacob had the power to remove himself and make his own pack. It's so weird," Paul sat on my steps and pulled me closer to him.

"Why would Jacob want that?"

"Sam wants to kill Bella Swan and the Cullens in Forks," Paul said quietly.

"Oh my god! Why?" I asked, shocked to learn this. Jacob would do anything to save that girl, he would never let Sam or anyone else in the pack try to hurt her.

"She is pregnant, with a vampire... offspring? We don't know what will happen if it is born. We don't know if we can still protect our people if we let it live," Paul voice died out, as if he was ashamed that he would have to kill an innocent child to keep his people safe.

"You would do that? You would murder and innocent baby?" I asked, still appalled by all of this.

"I wouldn't have a choice. If Sam told me to do something, you know how it is. I wouldn't want to, but if Sam orders, we have to obey," Paul looked at me again. "Please don't hate me, Rach."

My heart softened. "I don't hate you, I just - wait, where is Jake now?" my thoughts were still focused on my little brother.

"He is patrolling around the Cullen's house, trying to keep us out."

"You won't hurt him will you?" my voice shook with fear. I didn't want to have to choose between the man that I loved and my little brother.

Paul shook his head. "I highly doubt Sam would stoop to that point." I sighed in relief. "I had to tell you. I phased before Sam got the chance to tell me I couldn't. You deserve to know about your family."

"Thank you, Paul." I reached up and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to smile slightly. "Are you going to try to get Jacob back?"

"If it will make you happy, I will do anything," he said honestly, pulling me onto his lap.

"I love you, Paul. You really are the best I could ever ask for," I said truthfully.

"You are my life, Rachel. And I will do whatever it takes to get that stubborn brother of yours back on this reservation," he said quietly, kissing my temple.

**Oh my god. Words cannot express how awesome you guys are. 36 reviews. And you passed my other story in reviews and story alerts! I almost cried whenever I got a new review telling me happy birthday and everything! **

**ALSO, the VAST majority want Rebecca to imprint. if/when she does, it will be in this story, but It wont be as focused, I will probably start another story with it, but that is a lot for me to handle while im in school, so I'm not sure yet.**

**Another also, I have one more week of classes and finals. So don't really expect an update because I really really need to get good grades lol. **

**Back to the story lol, Jake left to be with the Cullens.... I'm trying to have this follow Breaking Dawn as much as possible. I thought I would have Jake walk in on Paul and Rachel one more time before he left though lol I also tried to make this a little bit longer... sooo enjoy!**

**I love you guys so so much!**

**Mainly Maddi :)**


	14. Chapter 14

I don't own anything

Chapter 14

It had been two weeks since we heard from Jake. Seth and Leah Clearwater had joined his new pack, and were with him at the Cullen's house right now. My dad was growing more and more restless. This time around, he didn't have the constant reassurance that everything was okay with his son. Dad already disliked the Cullen's, this only gave him more reason to be mad at them. It was like he felt that they were keeping Jacob hostage, which I knew was not the case.

And, Sue Clearwater was also worried about her children. My heart went out to her. The poor woman had just lost her husband and now had no clue what was going on with her only two children. I couldn't imagine what she was going through...

I sighed again as I stared at my coffee. Paul and I, along with the rest of the pack and their imprints, were at Emily's. The boys were trying to figure out a way to get Jake and the Clearwater's back home.

"Maybe we could sent a group over, tell them how much we need them here," Jared Green suggested as he rested his head on his girlfriend, Kim's, shoulder.

My ears perked up. "I could go," I said quietly from my place on Paul's lap. The whole room looked at me with wide eyes.

"No way in hell," Paul said bluntly.

"Why not?" I asked him, feeling a bit offended. Jacob was my brother, I had ever right to go see him.

Paul shook his head. "I can't- I won't..." He shook his head as if to gather his thoughts, "I would kill myself with worry if you went there. They might say that they only eat animals, but they have friends that don't feel the same way. If something happened to you, I would never forgive myself."

"Then come with me," I said quietly. "I think I would be more effective than one of you guys, no offense."

Sam shook his head. "It's too dangerous. And I can't ask Paul to risk having you there." I shook my head. It wasn't Paul's decision. Jacob needed to know what Dad was going through without him. My eyes went to Embry Call, I could tell he was missing my brother too. Quil was only getting by because of the little girl who bounced in his arms. Embry had nothing tying him to the pack other than loyalty.

He was moving his cereal from one side of the bowl to the other, staring at the soggy food.

A knock on the door made everyone's head turn to the noise. Emily hopped off the counter and went to open it. My sister walked in and waved at the group.

"Uh, Dad said you would be here. Can I borrow Rachel for a second?" she said quietly, motioning towards the door. I nodded and stood up and followed Rebecca out the door.

As I shut it, I heard a crash from inside the house. "Dude!" Paul shouted through the door.

Rebecca looked back towards the house. "Do they know where Jake is?" she asked quietly. I shook my head, staring at the ground. I hated lying to my sister. "Oh... well, I got my first sonogram. It's twins, Rachel. There were two heartbeasts," Rebecca said grinning.

I threw my arms around her. "Twins! That is so great, Becks. Maybe it runs in the family or something?"

She giggled. "Maybe it is just luck." She smiled at me again before looking to the ground. "I wish I could tell Jake about it. Make sure they find him soon okay?"

I nodded. "I will do my best."

She gave me a small smile. "Well I have to get back, I feel gross and I need to shower. Introduce me to your friends sometime?" I nodded and hugged her again before she turned back to her car.

I pushed the front door open to see Embry on his knees cleaning up spilled cereal and Paul standing next to the sink topless, and standing in his wet boxers wiping milk off of his chest and stomach. "What happened in here?" I tried extremely hard to not stare at Paul.

Paul glared at Embry before turning back to me and grinning at my expression. "Maybe you can explain it to her, Embry."

"I- Your sister is gorgeous," he said dreamily, his eyes fogging over. "Is she coming back?"

I tore my eyes away from Paul to look at Embry. "No, she went to tell my dad the news... she having twins, by the way."

Embry's eyes widened. "I forgot she was pregnant," his face returned to the dreamy look. "I knew I wasn't imagining things, she really was glowing."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Is this what I'm like?"

"No," I started to say before everyone else's voices overpowered mine with a loud "yes". Paul's face darkened as he glared at everyone else in the room. "Well, you're not like that around me."

"Thanks guys," Paul said as he ran his hands through his hair.

Emily came out with a smile on her face. "As if the rest of you guys aren't equally bad," she teased. "Paul, I threw your clothes in the washer. Embry needs to be more careful with his food." Emily tossed a pair of shorts at Paul and he swiftly put them on, still leaving his shirtless for me to stare at.

"It's not my fault, blame the angel that just walked into my life," Embry said happily. The boys all groaned.

"If all else fails, Jake has to come back to kick Embry's ass, er butt, right?" Quil said, minding the three -year-old on his lap. "Maybe he will have the same reaction as he did with Paul. Claire, don't pick your nose," he scolded lightly, pulling her arm away from her face.

"I still think I should go," I mentioned as I gravitated towards Paul. "I really want to go see him, make sure he is okay, let him know that we miss him."

Paul frowned. "I don't feel good about you going there... I cannot have you getting hurt, ever." He pulled me into his warm, bare chest and sighed deeply. "How about if we can't get him to come back without your help, then you can go. And if it comes to that, I am coming with you... and so are at least two others."

I beamed up at him. "Deal, besides, there was no way I would go up to a house full of vampires without my werewolf boyfriend and his friends..."

"If all goes well you won't be needing to go up to a house of vampires ever," Paul muttered, kissing the top of my head lightly.

"So, when do you want to go?" Jared asked.

Sam cleared his throat. "As soon as possible. Today even... it will be Jared, Paul, and Quil. Jared, I want you to go in not phased. Jacob will need to be able to talk to someone, and I don't think Paul is the best choice since the last time they spoke Jacob found out..."

"They know," I said loudly and everyone smirked at Paul and I.

"Right, so I think you should go soon, Jacob is an essential part of this reservation. We need him back," Sam said quietly before turning back to his fiance.

Paul nodded and walked me out to his truck, handing me his keys. "I will meet you at home, okay?" he said quietly. "I mean, your home - your apartment."

I grinned. "I will see you at home, Paul." He smiled again and kissed me tenderly on the lips. "Be careful."

"Always..." he kissed me again and walked back into the house.

I sighed and stepped up into his truck. My smile grew when I thought of Paul calling my apartment "home". It made my heart jump.

I walked into my apartment to see Rebecca sitting in the window. "You look ridiculous driving that thing."

"They are going to try to find Jake today," I said, sitting down on the couch. Rebecca followed me over, sitting next to me.

"I hope they bring him back, these babies need their uncle to protect them," she said, rubbing her growing stomach.

"Did you tell Dad?" I asked, grinning. I knew my dad would be jumping with joy when he found out about the babies.

She nodded, smiling. "He is pumped."

"I knew he would be," I said quietly. "I hope Jacob gets his ass back here before those babies get any bigger."

"Hey, no swearing about the kids," Rebecca scolded teasingly. Her face softened quickly. "I wish Mom were here, she would be so excited. We should go see her... tell her everything."

My heart quickened. "Maybe you and Dad can go," I said softly.

"Rachel, please tell me you have gone to see her grave," my sister whispered, grabbing my now shaking hand. My eyes fell to the ground and out of her view. "Sweetheart, the accident was years ago... you can't feel guilty forever. Nothing was your fault, ever."

My throat clenched. "Can we not do this now? Today is a happy day," I said, my voice heavy with emotion, as I rubbed the stomach that held my nieces or nephews.

"Mom would want you to visit her," Rebecca said quietly, still holding my hand. "She'll want to meet these twins, and she will want to meet Paul. She loves-"

"I'm gonna lay down," I stated abruptly. "If Paul gets back just send him in." I could feel the tears building and my throat burning with sobs. My sister nodded and watched me walk into my room.

Closing the door, I fell onto my bed, the silent tears sliding down my face.

_"Sweetheart, can't you just go to the library in Forks? The roads are getting nasty," my mom said in her always soft voice._

_I groaned. "The one in Port Angeles is so much better. Please, Mom? The truck as four-wheel drive, we can handle a little ice on the roads," I said matter-of-factly. "The paper is due on Monday, and I would really like a head start on it."_

_"It's only Thursday, Rach. Can't it wait until the weekend?" she said as she wiped the water off of another dish from the sink. _

_Pouting again, I stared at her. "Come on, Mom. I hate procrastinating, it makes me nervous."_

_My mom smiled. "My little obsessive-compulsive daughter. If only your sister was as dedicated as you," she teases as Rebecca poked her head over the fashion magazine she was reading to stick out her tongue. "Let's get going before it gets too bad."_

_I jumped up and hugged my mom. "Yes! Thank you!"_

_Ten minutes later, Mom's knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel. The truck skidded against the slick ice and my mom yelped as she got the car back into control. "I think I'm going to turn around. It's far too bad to be out on these roads."_

_I nodded in agreement and I gripped my seat. She successfully turned the car around, breathing a sigh of relief. We pulled up to an intersection and my mom's face went white. "I can't stop, Rach." _

_My eyes widened and I stared at her. "What? Mom!" A bright light flashed through her window and she screamed..._

My eyes snapped open and I gasped for air. Paul's warm arm hung around my body and I relaxed into his warmth. His brown eyes opened and he reached out to touch my face.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head and he pulled his body up. I placed my hand on his shoulder, pushing him back into the bed. Pulling my body up to his, I laid my head on his chest. "Is Jake back?"

"Sorry, Rach. He didn't budge," Paul chuckled suddenly. "Jake was pretty pissed that Embry imprinted on Rebecca though." I sighed, wishing he would come back. "I'm not giving up yet though, I will get your brother back."

"Thanks, Paul," I said, kissing his warm skin softly. My arm wrapped around his torso, pulling myself closer to his warm body. I was still shaking from the nightmare. It was the same one I had for years after the accident. The same one that caused the same pangs of guilt whenever I came to me.

"Rebecca said you weren't feeling well. Something about your mom," he ran his hand down my face again.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Paul nodded. "Whenever you're ready, Rach, I'm here for you." He reached down and kissed the top of my head. I hoped that one day I would be ready to tell him everything...

**Finals blow. Like.. you guys have no idea how much I studied... I didn't study that much to get C's on my effing Spanish tests... boo. lol There was my rant about finals. I still have two left.. ef my life, right? Anyways, I took any possible time to put together this chapter... **

**Now you all know how Sarah Black died and why Rachel is so guilty and sad about the whole ordeal. Paul is sweet as always. I missed Nikki in this chapter though... **

**hmmm... any All My Loving readers.. sorry about the zero updating, this story held my attention more in the past week with finals. But once break comes, expect an update there!**

**I LOVE THE REVIEWS!!!!! So much, seriously, they are great and so are all of you. Anyone who alerts or favorites, hit me up with a review, i wanna know what you think :)**

**Okay that's all. **

**I love you guys**

**Maddi **


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own anything

Chapter 15

"Hi, is Rebecca here?"

I stared at Embry Call, who stood on my front step, at eight in the morning. "You're going to scare her, Em. And Paul is going to kick your ass for getting me out of bed."

"Oh, sorry. Is she here though?" he looked into my house, as if he would see her.

I groaned. "No. She had a doctor's apartment. And even if she was here, she would be sleeping right now."

"Doctor's? Is she okay?" Embry asked nervously.

"She's pregnant, remember? She goes to the doctor a lot, everything is fine." His eyes relaxed with relief.

"Rach, where did you go?" Paul asked from my bedroom. He stumbled out in only his boxers. I grinned at him, not being able to stop myself. He was so cute, in a sexy way. Paul's hair stood on all ends, which I admit, was probably my fault. I had a tendency to pull on it, but he wasn't complaining. The way he stretched, how I knew he woke up because I wasn't next to him, and everything else about him caused my heart to race.

"Embry decided to stop by for a visit," I said as I yawned, trying to hide my smile.

Paul glared at him. "Why?"

"Dude, you know how it is... I can't stop thinking about her," Embry said quietly. Poor kid, there was no way Rebecca would be with him anytime in the near future. She laughed at me when I started hanging around Paul, and he is nineteen. She really would be like a pedophile if she hooked up with Embry.

"Just wait until you have sex, it gets so much worse. Then trying to keep that from the hundred other people in you head, when it's the only thing you want to think about," Paul said, smacking him on the shoulder. I rolled my eyes and elbowed him in the ribs.

"I still don't know how you kept it from us," Embry mumbled.

"You don't have to worry about that, Em. She is twenty-one. You're, what? Sixteen?" I pointed out, leaning into Paul's warm side.

"I'm seventeen," he clarified.

"It's still illegal," I told him. He groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "You can try to be friends with her..."

Paul smirked. "Yeah, and maybe on your eighteenth birthday, she'll give you a present." I smacked Paul's arm and he kissed me on the forehead.

"How do I try to be her friend? She will think I'm weird."

"You are kind of weird," I said quietly. Paul grinned and Embry groaned again. "But so is she... I have an idea. Come back at around ten, okay? You can help her get groceries."

I walked into the kitchen and pulled out a pad of paper. "We need milk, eggs, cheese, whatever she is craving today..." I wrote down the needed food and handed stuck it on the fridge.

"Do you think that will work?" Embry ask, leaning on the counter.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just trying to buy some time for you. Just help her with lifting heavy stuff, like pop or stuff like that. Throw in some conversation, you've got yourself the start of a friendship."

Embry beamed at me. "You're so great, Rachel. I could kiss you right now."

"You can leave now," Paul said quickly pushing him towards the door.

"Geez, Paul, it's a figure of speech. I don't actually want to kiss her," Embry said as he clung to the door frame. "I will see you guys in two hours!" Paul gave him one final push and closed the door.

Paul walked back into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Let's go back to bed," he whispered, kissing my neck lightly.

I sighed. "Good idea," I grabbed his hand and led him back to the bedroom. "Ya know, I don't remember you being like this when we first met."

Paul grinned. "I was too busy being punched in the nose by your brother," he said chuckling. "I'd say it worked out pretty well though. Jake punched me, but then you took over and cleaned me up. I remember thinking that Jacob can punch me as many times as he wants, just as long as you are there to fix me up."

"I don't want anyone punching you. Have you heard from Jake lately?" I asked quietly as I crawled into the warm bed. Paul shook his head and curled up next to me. "When can I go try and get him?"

His body shivered and pulled me closer. "I don't know, Rach. Something weird is going on there. I cannot allow you to get hurt. Jake wouldn't want that either..."

I nodded. "Maybe... I could call? I would really like to go in person, and I don't think Jake would let me get hurt. But, if it comes down to it, I guess a phone call would suffice." I ran my hand up his arm, making goosebumps rise on his skin. "I would rather go see him though."

"I will see what I can do," he said softly, kissing my shoulder lightly. "So, do you think Embry has a chance with your sister?"

"Nope."

Paul laughed. "Why not?"

"Because he is our teenage brothers best friend, emphasis on the teenage," I said, giggling quietly.

"So what. I'm still a teenager," Paul pointed out.

"Yeah, but I am a little more lenient when it comes to the age thing. Rebecca has always dated older guys," I sighed, "Maybe she needs a younger guy for once. It's not like Embry would be an ass like her past boyfriends."

Paul nodded. "So... he does have a chance?"

"Don't get his hopes up, Paul. Embry has to get her to be his friend first."

"Hopefully he can pull that off today," Paul said, kissing me on the cheek. "You are so great for helping him. It is so important for us to be a part of our imprints lives, and you are making it so much easier for Embry."

"I just want my sister to be happy. And besides, someone has to protect her and those babies from that psycho, asshole ex-boyfriend of hers, especially with Jake gone. She might think that he left peacefully, but I don't think so," I said quietly.

"We will not let anything happen to her, Rach."

I smiled up at him. "I know, I trust you guys... So, I guess we aren't going back to sleep."

Paul chuckled, "I guess not."

"Would you like some waffles?" I asked as I rolled onto his chest.

"I would love some. Do you mind if I go get Nikki while your making them? I doubt my mom will wake up to feed her," Paul asked quietly. I knew he still felt like he was pushing his little sister on me, but I loved the little girl and enjoyed having her around.

"Of course! I haven't seen her in a few days, I miss her."

Paul tightened his arms behind my back. "She misses you too," he shifted so that I was beside him. "I'll go pick her up now. She will be ecstatic." I watched him as he put on his jeans. He looked down at me grinning. "I'm going to need that shirt."

My eyes fell to the shirt I threw on when Embry knocked on the door. A large La Push Athletics t-shirt which Paul happened to be wearing before we went to bed last night. "Since when do you care about wearing shirts?"

He laid back down on the bed next to be and ran his hand up my leg, pushing the shirt up as he went higher. "Since I remembered what you are wearing, or not wearing for that matter, underneath it."

"Perv."

Paul laughed. "I mean, when Embry was here, it took every ounce of control to not stare at your legs."

I grinned at him. "Don't you have a sweet little girl to pick up?"

"Yup, once you give me back my shirt," he aid cheekily, pinching my butt playfully.

I rolled my eyes and pushed him off of me. Pulling the covers up to my chin, I yanked the shirt over my head and tossed it to Paul. "Happy?"

"I suppose," he said as he kissed my cheek. "I will be back in fifteen minutes."

After he left, I rolled out of my bed and threw on a tank top and shorts. Looking in my fridge, I pulled out everything to make waffles and started throwing it all together.

"Rachel!" Nikki's high voice screamed as the door swung open. I dropped the spoon I was using to mix the waffles into the bowl just in time to be hugged by the little girl.

"Hey Nick! I missed you, sweetheart," I kissed her on the cheek before she let me go. "Are you hungry? I'm just about to make some breakfast."

Paul smiled at me as he sat down at my kitchen table. Nikki hopped up into his lap and laid her head on his shoulder. "You sleepy, princess?" Paul asked quietly. She nodded and yawned. Paul rubbed her back softly and Nikki winced as his hand ran over her shoulder blades.

My heart stopped and I quickly turned back to the food. I pulled two waffles out of the cooker and placed them in front of Nikki. "Eat up, honey."

The little girl scooted towards her food and began eating it. Paul ran his hand unknowingly over her back again and her face crumpled in pain. "Did you not get much sleep last night, Nick?" I asked quietly. She shook her head on concentrated on her food. "You know you can tell us anything, right?" Paul froze and stared at me as Nikki nodded her head.

She put the last of her food into her mouth and swallowed it. Nikki turned again and curled into Paul's warm body. He instinctively started to move his hand up her back, so I leaned over the table and grabbed his hand.

"What's wrong, Nikki?" Paul asked, his voice full of fear.

Nikki sniffled loudly. "Rachel, can I sleep over here tonight?"

"Of course, Nikki, you can sleep over whenever you want," I said honestly.

Paul kissed the top of his sisters head and took a deep breath. "Nick, what happened?"

She sniffled again. "Can we take a nap? All three of us, please?"

Paul nodded. "Absolutely, after you tell us what happened."

Nikki sighed. "Mommy-"

"Hey, sweet pea!" Rebecca said as she walked into the kitchen, interrupting Nikki. "Guess what, kiddo? I got that apartment, so you can have your bed back. How's that sound? Ohh, waffles, can I make one?" Paul ran his hands through his hair and I shook my head. "What?" She asked as she poured batter into the waffle maker.

"It's nothing. Embry Call is going to be here in a few minutes to help you with groceries," I said, placing Nikki's plate in the sink.

"Embry Call? Jake's friend? Why do I need help with groceries?"

"Yes. Yes. And because you are pregnant, with twins."

"Twins!" Nikki said loudly, forgetting about her restless night with her mother. She inched off of Paul's lap and walked over to my sister. "Hi babies," she said, rubbing Rebecca's swollen stomach. "I'm Nikki. I'm going to be your... Paulie, what will I be? Can I be their cousin, please?"

Paul sighed as he watched his little sister. He looked up to Rebecca and I for an answer. Becca grinned. "You can definitely be their cousin, kiddo. Their favorite cousin," she leaned over to me. "She might as well be your kid, anyways. Cousin sounds right."

Nikki kissed her stomach twice before turning back to Paul. "Can we sleep now?"

"Not yet, Nikki."

"Hey, guys," Embry said, letting himself into the house.

"Embry! Good, once Rebecca is done eating, you should get going. Want to beat the rush right?" I said, almost pushing them out of my house. Rebecca shoved the last of her food in her mouth and gave me a confused look as she walked with Embry towards the door. He sweetly opened it for her and I waved at them "Bye..."

I shut the door and walked back into the kitchen. Nikki was sitting back on Paul's lap, leaning her back into his warm chest. "Alright, so what were you saying Nikki?"

"Can we put the Hannah covers back on my bed?" she asked quietly.

"Of course. Now tell Paulie and I why it hurts when he rubs your back," I whispered as I leaned on the table next to her.

"I fell."

"How did you fall?" Paul asked sternly.

Nikki looked up at him and tears filled her eyes. "Please don't be mad, Paulie."

I rubbed Paul's shoulder and he relaxed. "I'm not mad. How did you fall, Nick?"

"Mommy was chasing me."

"Were you playing?" I asked hopefully. "Like tag?"

"No, she-" Another knock on the door caused Paul to groan.

"I'll get it," I said, kissing her on the forehead before leaning over to Paul and doing the same. I jogged over to the door and swung it open. My jaw dropped. "Jake?"

**Sorry guys. I suck.**

**hmm... little bit of a cliffy. Also bringing Nikki back, and some drama there... Paul's Mom is not gone yet!**

**I don't really have much to say... Happy New Years!!!**

**The reviews are awesome! Keep up the great work!**

**Maddi.**


	16. Chapter 16

I don't own anything

Chapter 16

"Jake?" I asked as I stared at my little brother. Paul's ears must have picked it up because he was instantly behind me, Nikki wrapped up in his arms. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me. "Where the hell have you been?"

Jacob chuckled as Paul's protective eyes glared at him. "Around," he said plainly.

"Sure, sure. Are you back for good?" I asked hopefully.

He pulled away from me shaking his head. "Sorry, Rach."

I frowned. "Are you okay? Is Bella okay? I heard she was really sick or something."

My brother smiled down at me. "Yeah, she's great. She, uh, she and Edward had a baby."

"That's impossible. They have only been married for what? A month? And can he even... do that?"

Jacob's smile grew. "Yeah, apparently he can. Nessi is her name. She is great. She is so smart! And she's growing so fast, it's amazing."

I knew that look, I loved that look when it was coming from Paul. "Let me get this straight, you imprinted on your best friend's, the girl you supposedly were in love with, new born daughter?"

"I can't help it," Jake said, biting his lip. "She's such a great kid though. You would love her, Rach."

"Jacob?" Paul said making his presence clear. Nikki latched tightly onto his chest, waving at Jake shyly. "What are you doing here, man?"

"I have to talk to Sam... I just wanted to see Rachel and Rebecca first," Jake said looked over at Paul.

"Becca and Embry just went to the grocery store," I said quietly, not wanting to anger my little brother.

Instead he smiled, "good. Someone needs to take care of her, especially with me gone. They, uh, they told me she was having twins."

I grinned. "Yeah, she's excited. She would be more excited if she knew their uncle would be there to protect them," I said quietly.

"Sorry, Rach. I wish I could be here for everything. But she is safe with Embry, I know that. Anyways, I have to go talk to Sam, though." I frowned, not wanting him to leave yet and he pulled me into his arms again before looking up at Paul. "Don't be surprised if Sam calls a meeting." Paul nodded as Nikki shifted in his arms. "And, uh, keep doing what you're doing," he said, motioning to me.

Paul nodded again and Nikki waved at Jake, who smiled at her. "You keep an eye on my sister too, kid, okay?" Nikki smiled and nodded. "See ya around, Rach. I love you."

"I love you too, Jake. Be careful."

"Sure, sure. I will see you soon, hopefully," he kissed my forehead and turned out the door.

We watched Jake leave and Paul turned back down to his sister, who was resting her head on his chest. "Let's continue this conversation in the big, warm bed, alright, Nikki?"

Nikki frowned and buried her head in Paul's broad chest. I walked over and kissed her on the cheek. "Come on, Nick. It will all be fine, I promise."

Paul wrapped his free arm around my shoulders and led me towards the bedroom. He placed Nikki in the bed first before flopping on the bed next to her, causing her to bounce up from the mattress.

Nikki squealed in delight and giggled as she pulled me to the bed with them. I pulled the blanket over the our three bodies and cuddled closer to Nikki, who laid between Paul and I.

"Alright, Nick. What happened? The whole story." Paul said softly, smiling sadly as Nikki frowned.

I sighed and leaned back against the pillows. "Your mom was chasing you?" I asked, trying to get her to talk, but she only nodded.

Paul closed his eyes, trying to control his anger at his mom. "Why was she chasing you?" he asked evenly.

"I spilled my orange juice again, all over the floor," the little girl said quietly. "I said sorry, and I said I would clean it all up, I promised, Paulie."

"What happened next, Nikki?" he wrapped his arms around my body, pulling both of us closer to his warmth.

"She started yelling and I got scared so I tried to run." Paul nodded, urging her to continue. "Then she pushed me and I fell. That's how I hurt my back. But then I ran into my room and closed the door, so I was okay. She banged on it a few times, but I didn't let her in, like you told me," she said, looking over to Paul, who's eyes were filled with anger towards his mom. "Then you came and got me."

"That's the whole story?" Paul asked softly, running his warm hand down his sisters arm. All traces of anger were gone as he looked at her. She nodded quickly and wrapped her little fingers in with mine. "Okay. Get some sleep, kiddo."

"I love you, Paulie. And you too, Rachel," Nikki said through a large yawn.

My heart pulled in my chest and I kissed her hair lightly. "We love you too, Nick."

Paul ran his hand down my arm lovingly. He continued doing so as I watched Nikki's eyes start to droop.

He tensed when we heard the front door opening. "Relax, it's Rebecca," I whispered and he nodded. Paul ran his hand over his face before looking back down at his sister and sighing. "What can I do, Paul?"

"Nothing, you're already doing so much for us. I can't ask you to do anything else," he said looking away.

"Hey, I love you. And I love Nikki," I said, nudging him softly causing his eyes to return to mine. "I will do anything to make both of you safe and happy."

He shrugged his large shoulders. "You're amazing and you're already helping us more than you should have to, Rach."

"I don't have to do anything. You two make me happier than I have since my mom died. I hate worrying about her, or you even! I'm terrified that when your home, something will push you over the edge and you will be forced to leave me. I can't help but be selfish when I say that I need you two." Paul nodded, but his eyes fell from mine again.

"Rebecca should be moving out soon. Once she does, we will set up the Hannah Montana bed again, and it will all be back to normal," I said, trying to reassure him. He nodded, still not looking too convinced. "Maybe it would be easier if you just moved in with me... I mean, I know Nikki wouldn't be able to move in too, but she could spend most of her days here. And yeah, you're basically living here already, but you could move the rest of your clothes here. And when school comes, I could take Nick to school, since I will be working there and all, that would make it easier on your whole family," I stopped to breath, my face turning red as I realized everything I had just rambled out.

Paul's eyes were opened wide as his face slowly turned into a small grin. "You want me to move in with you?"

My heart raced as he stared at me. "Well, yeah, of course, but if you don't want to, you don't have to feel bad about saying no. Because I know you just turned nineteen and you want to, I don't know, live your life? And I realize that we have only been technically dating for a few-"

Paul reached over and kissed me, effectively stopping my line of speech. "I would love to move in with you, Rachel."

"Ow, Paulie! You're killing me!" Nikki said from under Pauls warm body.

Paul chuckled and pulled his weight onto his elbows. "Sorry, Nick. How was your nap?"

"Short," she said quickly, causing Paul and I to both laugh loudly. "It's not funny, Paulie. You woke me up."

"I'm sorry, kid," Paul said sweetly as he pressed his lips lightly to her forehead. "Good news though, it looks like we are going to be having a lot more sleepovers again."

Nikki's face lit up. "Not just for you?"

Paul grinned and shook his head. "Nope, you get to come too, whenever you want. But it's gonna be a little different, Nick. Rach asked me to move in with her, and I think I'm going to."

Nikki's face fell. "What about me?"

"You can stay here whenever you want, sweetie," I said softly as I ran my fingers through her thin hair. "Rebecca will probably move out soon, so we can put your sheets back on the bed. And when school starts, I can bring you with me," I started relaying the ideas to her and her smile grew.

"When are you moving, Paulie? Mommy is going to be so mad!"

Paul sighed. "I know, I'm going to talk to her today," he looked over at me. "Is it okay if she hangs out here. I don't want her to be home when my mother explodes."

I nodded quickly. "Of course. If you don't want to move in... I feel like-"

"Rachel, I have been waiting to live with you since the moment I saw you on the beach. You are my world."

My heart flutter as he reached over to kiss me, but Nikki stopped him before his lips touched mine.

"What about me, Paulie?"

Paul chuckled, "you too, Nick."

A soft knock on the bedroom door brought us out of our little world. Rebecca poked her head in and grinned at us.

"Hey, Sam Uley is on the phone. He needs you and Embry."

Paul nodded and lifted himself off of my bed. "I will be back as soon as possible." He kissed us both on the forehead before slipping past Rebecca as she stood in the doorway.

"What? No kiss for me?" Rebecca teased.

Paul chuckled as Embry glared at him and he shook his head. "Sorry, Becca."

She rolled her eyes and laid down in Paul's place on my bed. "Boys..."

"How was your shopping trip, Becks?" I asked as Nikki scooted into my arms.

Rebecca shrugged. "Strange. The kid didn't let me do anything basically. He wouldn't even let me carry the cereal to the cart. And he wanted to know everything about me. Everything! It was extremely strange."

"Is that good or bad?" I asked as Nikki's eyes began to droop again. Poor thing. I kissed her lightly on the top of her head.

"I don't know... it was fun I guess. He is pretty funny."

I nodded. "Yeah, he is."

"Is everything alright?" my sister asked, motioning the Nikki's now sleeping body.

"It's just scary. I wish she could stay here all the time, but that would technically be kidnapping, ya know?"

She nodded. "But if it's for her safety..."

"Yeah, well, Paul is going to move in here. That will make it a lot easier for her to come here more often."

"That's a big step, Rach. And he's so young," Rebecca said softly. "Then agian, I moved out when I was eighteen..."

I nodded. "I just want them to be safe. I need them to be safe."

"Mom would be proud of you, Rach. She would want you to be happy, and if this makes you happy, then she would be happy."

I didn't say anything, but I looked down at the little girl in my arms and couldn't help but agree. My mom would be happy. And she would love Paul, and Nikki. Mom would be so proud of my new family.

**I really am truly blessed to have such awesome readers. 37 great reviews. I love every single one of you guys. You're all great.**

**I am so so sorry that I haven't been updating like I used to. School has taken over my life and any spare time is limited to eating and sleeping. **

**Please keep up the reviewing, even though I'm a horrible updater and do not deserve them. **

**I love love love you all so much.**

**Mainly Maddison.**


	17. Chapter 17

I don't own anything

Chapter 17

I tapped my foot nervously as Nikki and I watched Hannah Montana. Well, Nikki was watching Hannah Montana. I was waiting for Paul to get back with his stuff. My eyes had been shifting from the door to the clock since he had left.

It had been a week since I asked him to move in, and Paul chose today to go and talk to his parents. He had been gone for an hour and a half and each minute brought more nerves for me.

Nikki laughed loudly, poking me in the side, effectively bringing me out of my thoughts. "Lilly is so funny, Rachel."

"Uh, yeah," I said, smiling down at her. Lilly was the blonde one? The one that wasn't Hannah Montana?

"Those Jonas Brothers are cute too, Nick is my favorite. He's hot," she said pointing at one of the boys on the screen. I snorted at the thought of her thinking someone was "hot" and glanced from the door to the screen. "Which one do you like?"

"Uh, which one is the oldest?"

"Kevin," she said, pointing at the screen.

"I like Kevin." If he was the oldest, he must be legal for me to like.

"You would. His first name is really Paul. You like Pauls," she said matter-of-factly. "I like Paul's too."

The door swung open and I leaped off the couch.

"Hey," my sister said as she walked in the door. "Happy to see me?" she asked smirking.

"I just thought it would be Paul. He is getting the rest of his stuff from his parents house right now," I said, slouching back onto the couch.

"Gotcha. Well I'm actually here to get the last of my stuff," she said, moving past me. "Hi, Nick," she called as she walked past the couch.

Nikki waved absentmindedly, her eyes still glued to the television.

Rebecca walked out from Nikki's room, rolling her last suitcase behind her and I smiled weakly at her. I loved having my sister so close to me, and hated to see her leave, even if she was only a few miles away.

"Do you need help moving anything?" I asked quietly, still keeping my eyes on the door as I got up to talk to her.

She shook her head. "Embry came over and helped me. That kid is strong."

I bit back a smiled. "Yeah, they all are."

"Yeah, Embry's a good kid," Rebecca said, her eyes falling to the ground. "It's nice to have a guy around."

"Pedophile," I said grinning.

"Not like that, you perv. He is only seventeen," she defended quietly.

"Sure, sure. Eighteen in a few months," I said, winking at her.

"I'm leaving now. I love you even though you are mean to me."

"What goes around comes around, dear," my smirk widening to a smile. "I'll miss you, Becks."

"I'll miss you too, Rach. Thanks for letting me stay with you," she said smiling back at me.

"Anytime," I said honestly.

My sister hugged me one more time before moving to Nikki. She kissed the little girl on the forehead and waved before walking out the door.

I sighed, moving back to the couch next to Nikki. My anxiety for Paul's return heightened again. Hannah Montana ended and Nikki sighed.

"I do not like Raven," she said, grabbing the remote off the coffee table. She flipped the channel and settled on a Hilary Duff movie.

"Where is that brother of yours, " I said, pulling Nikki closer to me.

She shrugged. "Mommy is probably yelling at him. She yells a lot." I swallowed hard and nodded. "He will be okay, Rachel. Paul is a big boy." I nodded and stared at the screen.

Forty-five minutes into the movie, Paul still wasn't home. I glanced at the clock and sat up from the couch. "I'm going to start dinner, what are ya hungry for?" Maybe cooking would get my mind off of my MIA boyfriend.

"Mac and cheese!" she said excitedly, causing me to grin.

"Mac and cheese it is," I moved into the kitchen and got to work on her meal, making two extra boxes for Paul, whenever he decided to come back.

Fifteen minutes later, I sighed again. The food was done and Paul still wasn't back. "Nick, your dinners ready," I called to her.

She ran in and hopped up to the table, digging into her food. Five minutes later she looks up at me. "I wonder when Paulie is coming inside."

My head snapped up. "He's outside?"

"Yup," she said, putting another spoonful of macaroni in her mouth. "He has been sitting in his truck for a long time."

"He's- You finish your food, okay?" I said quickly, my chair screeching on the linoleum floor. I nearly ran out my front door to stopping once I saw Paul's truck parked in front of my door.

Paul's eyes were unfocused and his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. The window was rolled down, so I walked up to the car.

"Hey, honey. How'd it g-," I went to grab the handle to open the door, but it was missing.

"I broke it off," he said quietly, still staring out the windshield. I noticed the muscles under his skin were quivering rapidly.

"Uh huh,I see that. Maybe Jake can have a look at it." I murmurred, looking from the door back to Paul. His eyes hadn't moved at all, he was starting to scare me. "Talk to me, Paul."

He ran his hand through his hair before placing his head on the steering wheel, his arms still shaking with some emotion.

"Alright," I said loudly. I put my one hand on the windowsill and the other, I grabbed onto the top of his truck, swiftly pulling my legs into the truck. Paul's head shot back, making room for my body. I placed myself into his lap. "Talk to me, Paul," I repeated, looking into his big, sad eyes.

His arms fell from the steering wheel to my waist. The shaking in his arms calmed as he rested his heavy head on my shoulder.

"That was hard, Rach," his voice was just above a whisper.

"Tell me about it," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. I kissed his temple lightly, trying to encourage him.

"I just- she started yelling and throwing things. Already wasted, of course. I felt like a kid again," he choked on his last words, looking away from me. "I was terrified."

My heart broke for him as I watched him blink back tears. "Hey, it's all okay. You're here. You're safe. I promise." He nodded wrapped his arms tighter around my waist.

"I'm sorry I'm such a pussy," Paul said, coughing out a laugh.

I smiled sadly at him. "You are not a pussy, Paul," I chuckled slightly at his wording. "You're amazing."

"Right," he said doubtfully.

"Really. You've made me happier than I have ever been in my life. You are the best brother that a little girl could ask for. I consider that pretty amazing."

Paul scoffed, "I am anything but a good brother. I let my mom hurt her! Multiple times at that." His arms started trembling again.

"Hey, calm down. Nikki is fine now. She can sleep here whenever she wants, whenever you feel that she would be safer here. You've saved her so many times, and she loves you for it," I rubbed his back reassuringly.

"I don't know, Rach," he said quietly.

"Well, you should know. Because there are at least two girls who think you are the best guy on the whole planet. And one of them is going to eat the rest of the huge batch of macaroni and cheese that is sitting on the table waiting for you."

Paul's face lightened a bit. "And what about the other one?"

This made me grin. I leaned into his chest, resting my head on his shoulder. "The other one can't wait to go to bed tonight, so she can show you exactly how much she loves you," I whispered into his ear.

Paul moaned and shook his head. "I have to wait until tonight? You're such a tease," he said, grinning.

"You'll take back that tease statement after I'm done with you, Mister. I can promise that much," I said, my smile growing.

"I'm going to hold you to that," he kissed me lightly, moaning slightly as I pulled on his short hair.

I grinned again. "I am expecting you to," I winked at him. "Now, I know you didn't eat when you were at your parents house. And it has been over two hours since you've been fed. You must be dying of hunger."

He smiled sheepishly at me. "You caught me. I'm hungry and horny. I blame you," he said poking me in the side. I laughed. My Paul was back, my happy, cute, amazing Paul.

"I will own up to the horny part. But the hungry is no ones fault but your own," I poked him back.

He chuckled and kissed me on the forehead. "Thank you, Rachel. If anyone in this relationship is amazing, it's you."

"If you say so," I kissed him on the cheek. "So, do you think we can open the door? Because I can squeeze through the window. You, not so much."

Paul chuckled. "It should still open from the inside," he pulled on the handle and the door popped open. "I can fix it, I think," he said, looking at his broken door. "I can't believe I broke it," he said quietly, shaking his head.

"You don't know your own strength." I rubbed his back as he stood back up.

"I guess not," he said, draping his arm over my shoulders. "Let's get inside, I'm starved."

"I bet," I said sarcastically. "Do you have anything to bring in?"

"No, I'll go back when she is asleep. I didn't get into my room before..." his voice died off as he walked me into the apartment.

"That's alright, you have enough clothes here to last a while," I said, kissing his neck softly.

"Tease."

I laughed loudly. "Remember that tonight," I said cheekily.

Paul groaned as we walked in the door. "Is it bedtime yet?" His eyes widened in horror. "No! I have to work at nine."

I frowned. "Until when?"

"Two in the morning," he groaned again. He grabbed a spoon out of the drawer. Not bothering to get another bowl, he had the left over macaroni right out of the pot.

I couldn't help my pout. "Who do you work with?"

"Embry, Quil, and some new kid. Alex? New kids are sprouting everyday," he said quietly.

"Why?"

Paul looked into the other room to see that Nikki was fully occupied. "Uh, the Cullen's are having some all these other bloodsuckers over. Trying to prove something, I don't know. It's causing all these kids to start phasing." Paul shook his head. "I hate having to put myself and the pack in danger to help them. We aren't supposed to be helping vampires."

"What kind of danger?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Don't worry about it, I will be fine," he said firmly.

I nodded. "Well, I guess we are going to have a pretty late night tonight, huh?" I wasn't going to push him to talk to me about whatever he and the pack was doing. He would tell me if something was wrong.

Paul grinned. "Really? You'll stay up for me?"

"I promised I wouldn't be a tease," I said, reaching over to kiss him lightly on the lips.

He sighed happily. "I have the best life."

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for the reviews, they were fantastic. **

**I don't know how I feel about this chapter, so you're going to have to let me know.**

**And sorry if it is sort, I'm not sure what else I would want to add to it before it would start taking away from what I wanted it to be**

**hmmm.... I love you all. you know that though :)**

**Not much else to say, All My Loving readers, sorry, that chapter is taking a while to do.**

**keep up with the reviews**

**you're awesome, i love you**

**MainlyMaddi**


	18. Chapter 18

I don't own anything

Chapter 18

I woke up with a smile on my face. I cuddled into Paul's warm body again, shutting my eyes and breathing in deeply.

We had been up late last night. As promised, I waited for Paul to get home from work and showed him how much I loved him... a few times.

I ran my hands over Paul's russet skin and watched as a smile formed on his sleeping face. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to look down at me.

"Good morning," he said, kissing my hair sweetly.

I glanced at the clock and grinned. "Good afternoon," I said as I ran my fingers down his chest again.

"I vote we stay in bed all day," Paul said as he caressed my bare back.

"I need to feed your sister, and there is no way you are going to survive much longer on an empty stomach," I pointed out.

"The TV is off, Nikki is still sleeping," Paul said into my hair. "We have all the time in the world, I can hold off my hunger for as long as I need to," he muttered as he leaned down to kiss my neck.

I moaned quietly and melted into his arms.

"Rachel Alison Black, I don't care how late you were up last night. Get your little ass out of bed, Dad is going to be here soon. Embry is bringing him," my sisters voice yelled from the other side of the door.

"Twenty minutes, Becks, that's all we need," Paul said loudly, not releasing my body as I squirmed.

"Fine, but when Dad gets here and you are all sweaty and naked, it's your funeral... or his," she said a bit quieter. "I'm going to wake up Nikki."

"We have to get up," I said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Paul groaned. "No, we should get up. I am pretty hungry."

I grinned. "That's what I thought."

"Well I tend to forget about everything when I'm with you. I could go without food for a long time, granted that we were naked," Paul said as he pulled a pair of cut-off shorts on and flopped back onto the bed.

"Oh of course," I giggled, rolling my eyes. I pulled a pair of ripped jean shorts over my dark legs and put on a white tank top. I hopped onto my bed, straddling Paul.

"I love these shorts, did I ever tell you that?" Paul said, tracing the pockets on them.

I grinned. "I think you have told me that," I leaned down, pushing my lips to his collarbone, causing him to moan.

"Hello! I know what you're doing in there," Rebecca said, pounding on the door again. "Hi, Daddy? Where's your lovely daughter? Oh, she's shacked up in her room with her boyfriend. What was that? Two knocked up daughters?"

Paul shot up, placing me on the ground. "I didn't knock-"

I rolled my eyes. "He isn't out there," I said walking into my living room. Nikki's eyes were foggy with sleep as I walked by her. "Sleep good, sweetheart?"

She nodded. "What did Paulie knock over?"

I threw a glare at Rebecca. "Nothing. Hannah Montana's on." She nodded again and stumbled to the television.

Rebecca frowned at me. "I'm jealous that you are still hot, and I am fat and pregnant."

I smiled at me sister. "Awh, Becks. You're gorgeous. Besides, Embry thinks you're hot. So does Paul, right?"

Paul looked up from the couch next to his sister. "What? Oh, right. Very pretty," he said as Nikki crawled onto his lap.

"See?" I said as I grinned.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen. Her phone started ringing as she left the room. I picked it up and glanced at the caller ID.

_Rick_

My eyes narrowed as I carried the phone towards my sister. "Oh thanks, Rach," Rebecca said as she went to take her phone, but I pulled it back.

"It's Rick."

My sister's face dropped. "Silence it," she whispered. "I'm happy now."

"Good. We are all happy now that you're here with us. You're safe and that's all that matters," I pushed the end button on the phone.

Almost as soon as I touched the button, his name popped up again. "Just turn it off," she demanded. I nodded and turned her cell phone off.

Rebecca took the phone and threw it in the garbage can. "You don't need cell phones in this town anyways."

"Right," I said, trailing off. There was a knock on the door that brought us both back to the world. "Dad's here," I said quietly. "He has to know that Rick is calling. Rick will call his house next, and you know it."

She nodded as tears started to form in her eyes. "What if he comes back? What if he comes after the babies? What if he hurts me? What if-"

"What's going on?" Embry said as he walked into the room. "Whoa, what's wrong, Becca?"

Rebecca ran to Embry and threw herself into his arms. "Don't let him hurt me, Em. I don't know what to do," she said into his chest.

Embry's eyes widened as he slowly placed his arms around her shaking body, seemingly not knowing what to do. "Who wants to hurt you?"

"Rick, he has called me twice. We shut off my phone and threw it in the garbage," she stuttered.

"Maybe you should listen to what he has to say, sweetheart," my dad said as he wheeled into the room. Paul stood behind me. "Maybe he is offering to help support the twins. Paul, grab the phone out of the trash."

Paul reached down and got the phone out of the garbage and wiped it on his shorts before handing it to Rebecca. She turned it on and it instantly started to ring, Rick's name showing up on the screen.

Embry swallowed hard. "This guy sure is persistent."

"Answer it, Rebecca. We are all here for you," my dad said encouragingly. I bit my lip, nervous for my sister.

Her eyes connected with mine. I knew she was just as skeptical about this as I was. "H-Hello?... I-you told me to leave." Embry rubbed her back, trying to be supportive. She ran her hands through her hair. "Stop yelling at me, you told me to leave."

I noticed Embry's hands starting to shake, his hearing must be picking up everything that was going on on the other line.

"Rick, I'm not asking for anything. I don't even understand why you are calling," she said, her voice catching as she tried to hold back tears.

"Give me the phone, Rebecca," I said firmly. She looked at me pleadingly as Rick yelled something else at her. "Give me the phone."

Rebecca handed me the small phone and I snapped it shut. "That was more than enough of that. I think Becca will agree."

She nodded quickly, turning back to Embry, leaning into his chest. "He is going to come after me, he told me."

Embry shook his head. "No way, I won't let anything happen to you."

My sister snorted. "Yeah, then Rick can be charged with assaulting a minor?" She started breathing hard, hyperventilating.

"Okay, let's take you outside," I said, pulling her out the side door. Embry moved to get up. "Sit, we will be back soon. I won't hurt her, promise." Paul put his hand on Embry's shoulder as if to hold him back.

"We will not let anything happen to you, Becks," I said rubbing my sisters back.

She sniffled and nodded, deeply breathing in the fresh air. "He was yelling at me. Saying I was pressuring him into giving me money? I haven't talked to him since the night he kicked me out. I even left the next months rent, Rach! He told me that I wasn't allowed to leave him, and that he was going to come get me. He will, Rach. He's crazy."

"Embry, Paul, and the rest of the guys will not let him get near you. If you want, someone can be with you at all times. And you work at the police department, so you have a connection with the law. You will be fine, and so will those two beautiful babies. They will be watching like hawks to make sure that nothing goes wrong."

Rebecca rested her head on my shoulder. "You're right. Hey, can I ask you about something?"

"Sure, what's up?" I asked, having a feeling she would ask about Embry.

"I am a bad, perverted person."

I snorted, "and why is that?"

"I really like Embry, a lot, Rach. He is so sweet and he's funny. Rick's polar opposite, really. But he is so young, I feel bad liking him like I do..." she said quietly, her voice trailing off.

"He isn't all that young. Mom and Dad were five years apart. Besides, if he makes you happy, then you deserve him. You most definitely deserve someone who is 'sweet and funny," I said, nudging her side gently.

"But, I am having twins. I can't expect him to stick around. There is no way he want's to be the father of some other guys kids at the age of eighteen."

"I think you need to give him a little more credit. Embry knows what it's like to not have a dad around. He knows how his mom felt and what she went through. I don't think he would leave you after you had the babies. He is a really great person, Becks, you know he wouldn't do that. He know's what he is in for."

"I guess you're right. You always are though," she said nudging me back.

I grinned. "I know. Alright, let's go inside. Because I am hungry, I can guess that you are hungry, and I know for a fact that Paul is hungry."

Rebecca giggled as she cleared her throat. "Embry probably is too."

I helped my very pregnant sister up from the stair and linked arms with her. "Who's hungry?" I asked, walking back into the tense kitchen.

"Thank god! I am starved," Paul said loudly.

Rebecca fell into the seat next to Embry, heavily leaning on his shoulder.

"Becca, you fill them in on Rick the Dick and I am going to order pizza," I said as I walked into the living room.

I sat down next to Nikki on the couch and grabbed the phone. "What kind of pizza do you want, Nick?"

"Pizza for breakfast?" she asked, giggling.

"Lunch, kiddo. It's one in the afternoon, we slept in today," I said pointing at the clock on the DVD player.

"Cheese then," she said before returning her attention to the TV.

"Of course," I whispered as I dailed the number, ordering enough to feed the entire group.

When I walked back into the kitchen, Rebecca was crying on Embry's shoulder and my dad was rubbing her back. Paul looked like he didn't know what to do.

"Pizza will be here in a half hour," I annouced quietly.

"Good, I am so hungry. It's making me cry more than what's necessary," Rebecca said as she wiped her cheek on Embry's shirt. "Sorry, Em."

He kissed her forehead softly. "Don't apologize to me, I like that I can be your human tissue."

She chuckled at that. "Yeah, you should be used to it by now. Ugh, Rachel, when is the food getting here?"

"Twenty-six minutes," I said grinning. I loved my pregnant sister and her mood swings.

"Smart ass."

"No swearing around the babies, Rebecca," my dad scolded lightly as he reached out to rub her growing belly.

"Sorry, girlies," she said, resting her hand above Dad's.

"You think they are girls?" I asked from my spot in Paul's warm arms.

"Yeah, I can feel it," she said quietly.

"Twin girls, good luck. They're a lot to handle," my dad said quietly as he pulled his hand back. "Especially if you're alone."

"She's not alone," Embry whispered as he too rubbed my sisters stomach. "She'll never have to be alone."

I watched as Rebecca's eyes filled with tears again. But this time they weren't sad tears. She groaned. "Where is that god damn food?! Being pregnant sucks," she huffed.

**haaaayy! I am on spring break so I actually had the time to write up a chapter! I am so sorry I am a bad updater. The next story I write, I will have a few chapters written before I start putting it up.**

**Okay a lot. A LOT of people have asked about Rick. I know that in the books Rebecca is married to someone else, and when I was writing that, my mind went completely blank on that part of the book. For that I am really sorry, because I like to keep to the book as much as possible. I would change it, but I feel like it is too far into the story to do that... so again, I am really sorry about any confusion.**

**Keep up that awesome reviewing and reading. I really appreciate it.**

**loveyouguys **

**Maddison.**


	19. Chapter 19

I don't own anything

Chapter 19

"I know that you're lying, so it's really pointless," I said as I smeared frosting onto one of the cupcakes I was making for Nikki's birthday party tonight. It was only going to be Paul and I, Rebecca and Embry and my dad, but Nikki was thrilled.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "He is sleeping on the couch, Rachel. How many times do I have to tell you?" she exclaimed, throwing a sprinkle at me.

"Real mature," I said, grinning. "Anyways, I get it. There is a hot guy protecting you and your babies, of course you would have him sleep in your bed with you."

"He is seventeen, Rachel. Isn't that illegal or something?" she said as she covered the white frosting with sprinkles.

"Are you having sex with him?" I asked quietly, minding that Nikki was in the next room over.

Rebecca shook her head. "With these two rolling around inside of me? No way. I'm fat and disgusting, I wouldn't want to have sex with me if I were Embry. Plus he is too skinny, I would crush him with my extra weight. I don't want to have sex until I look hot again."

"I see you've put a lot of thought into this," I teased. "Besides, I think Embry would die to have sex with you."

"Shut up," she said softly. "I have put a lot of thought into having a real relationship with Embry. I feel awful throwing this all on him," she said pointing to her large stomach.

"Didn't we already have this conversation? Has Embry said or done anything to make you think he doesn't want this," I asked quietly even though I knew for a fact that Rebecca was the only thing he would ever want.

"No, he's great, better than great. But he's just a kid, Rach," she said, her voice just above a whisper.

I smiled at her. "You are worrying too much. Embry is never going to leave you, trust me."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"He..." He hasn't told her about being a werewolf. I can't tell her, but she needs to know that he is going to be around whether she likes it or not. "He told me," I said quickly.

"Really? He was talking about me? What did he say?" she asked excitedly. Her hormones have turned her back into a high school girl.

"Don't worry about it, I just know that he is in it for the long haul," I said as I finished off the cupcakes, right as Nikki ran into the room.

"Can I have one, Rachel?" she asked, eying up the cupcakes.

I grinned. "I guess the birthday girl can have one early present," I said handing her one of the smaller ones.

"Thank you!" she said running back into the living room.

"What about you, Rach?" Rebecca started. "You started dating Paul a few months ago, and now you basically have a seven-year-old living with you. You're her mom, and it doesn't phase you at all."

I shrugged. "I love Paul and I would have done anything for him. Even if that meant playing house with his little sister, but none of that matters now. I love Nikki so much, and I would still do anything for him or Nikki. I think Embry feels about the same way about you and your babies."

Rebecca nodded. "When is Paul going to be back? I thought he would only be gone for like a half hour. It's been well over that," she said glancing at the clock. Rebecca had been nervous to be alone any since Rick called.

"Relax. Have you heard anything else..." I wondered quietly.

"He won't stop calling. He called Dad's. I have that feeling, Rach. You know what I mean..." she said as she looked towards the door.

I nodded. "Yeah, but you have to trust me when I tell you that no one is going to let anything happen to you. The guys are already out all hours of the night keeping the reservation save. I can bet that Embry has them looking out for Rick too."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you. What is up with the whole patrolling thing? I can't think of anything bad around here. Our crime rate is, like, negative," she said as she licked the frosting off one of the cupcakes.

"Hey! Those are for tonight!" I said grabbing it out of her hands, effectively changing the subject.

"Rachel," she said, dragging out my name. "I'm pregnant, you can't deny me food!"

I rolled my eyes. "You just ate an entire box of macaroni and cheese, Becks, which was for Nikki, by the way. But now, since you so hygienically placed your dirty fingers all over this one, you can have it back."

"Okay, Mom," she said sticking out her tongue before taking a large bite of the pastry in her hand. "Did you use her recipe for these, by the way. They are delicious."

I nodded and turned back to them, placing them in tupperware.

"Ugh, you are going to have to cook for me and my babies. Your food always tastes so much better."

"Maybe you should have listened closer when mom was teaching us how to make all this stuff instead of sneaking out to make out with Bryan Foster every night," I said chuckling.

Rebecca grinned. "Bryan Foster was really hot. Too bad he stopped working out and got fat," she said as she reached for another cupcake.

"Hey! Not until tonight," I scolded.

"Why are you so mean?" she asked jokingly as her eyes drifted towards the window, rain hitting pelting the glass. "It's getting bad out, I wonder when Paul will be home."

"He will be back soon, Rebecca. I know you just want him here because you know that Embry will come with him," I teased.

Rebecca shrugged before sitting down at my table. "Rach, will you rub my feet?"

"You are two months pregnant and you are barely showing. I will not rub your feet," I said rolling my eyes. "And do not ask Nikki to do it."

"Ugh, fine," she said groaning. "And I am so showing."

Rebecca jumped when the front door swung open to reveal Paul and Embry holding five extra large pizzas.

"Finally!" Rebecca said as she walked into the living room. "Can we eat this now?"

"No, you can wait a half hour," I said as I pushed Paul and the pizzas into the kitchen.

"Hey," Paul said, smiling down at me. "I missed you."

I blushed as my grin widened. "I missed you too," I said as I reached up to kiss him. He quickly put down the pizzas and wrapped his warm arms around me. "You're soaked, you should change."

"Come with me?" he asked cheekily.

I rolled my eyes. "My dad will be here soon, want to go through that again?"

"No, thank you. Oh! Cupcakes, awesome," he said, reaching for the dessert.

I swatted his hand away. "You and Rebecca are going to eat them all and there will be none left for your poor, little sister."

Paul grinned at me. "Whatever you say, dear. When are people going to get here?"

"Translation: when can we eat," I teased and he chuckled, pulling me into his body. "Twenty minutes, you can handle it."

I pulled away and placed the pizzas in the oven to keep them warm.

"I might need something to distract me," he said bringing me back to him. Paul pressed his lips to my neck.

I sighed blissfully. "After everyone leaves, I promise."

"Good," he said grinning. "I'm gonna run outside and get Nikki's present, okay?"

I nodded at kissed his cheek before he stepped out the door. "Be careful, it's slippery!" I called after him. I could almost see him rolling his big brown eyes.

We got Nikki a new bike because her mom backed over her old one two weeks ago as she was leaving for some bar. The car was fine, but Nikki's beloved bike was smashed.

The bike was actually mine when I was little, but we had given it a new paint job and replaced the old ratty basket with a new white one.

Nikki skipped into the room right as Paul shut the door. "Can we sing soon?" she asked excitedly.

"Do you want to sing soon?" I asked as I lifted her onto the counter.

She nodded quickly. "It's my favorite part!"

"We can sing as soon as Paul gets back and my dad gets here," I said grinning at her.

"This is the best birthday ever," she said clapping her hands.

"Good," I kissed her cheek. My front door opened to reveal my dad's smiling face. "Hi, Dad."

Nikki hopped off the counter gracefully and jumped onto my dad's wet lap. "Billy!"

"Happy birthday, Nikki," my dad said, hugging the little girl tightly after taking off his yellow raincoat.

"Rachel, where is Paulie? I want to sing," she whined.

I chuckled. "I will go find him."

I walked out the side door and saw Paul wheeling in the bike through the rain. I stood under the overhang and waited for him to come to me "We got mail," Paul said, tossing me the small pile of soggy letters.

"Two bills. Awesome. And a letter from someone, it's for you," I said handing it to him.

He gave it back. "I'll open it later, I bet she is itching to sing," he said chuckling. I nodded. "It's her favorite part of her birthday, and my birthday. All birthdays actually," he laughed again.

"Yeah, she mentioned something about singing," I joked.

Paul smiled at me. "You're really amazing, you know that, right? Her 'party' last year was me and her singing around a piece of cheese cake at the diner. My mom forgets our birthdays every year," he said, his eyes dropping to the ground.

"Hey," I said to get his attention back. "I love her a lot. She's family now, and the Black's always throw birthday parties. Now, we better get inside before that angry eight-year-old comes out here. We have a song to sing."

Paul's eyes brightened again and he kissed my cheek. "She loves you too, Rach, but you're right. We should get inside before she gets too impatient."

We walked in as Embry was lighting the candles.

"Finally!" Nikki said loudly, hopping off my dad's lap. "You two were taking forever!"

Paul grinned and lifted his sister into his arms, throwing her over her shoulder. "Getting anxious, Nick?"

"I do not know what that means," she said, frowning. "Can we sing now?"

"I suppose," Paul said, still smiling at his sister. "Let me go put on dry clothes."He placed her in a chair in front of the cake. Paul came back a minute later with gym shorts and a tee-shirt on, looking hotter than ever.

"Alright, on the count of three..."

We sang through the song three times before Nikki was pleased. I noticed Embry leaning back against the counter, staring at my sister lovingly. After handing out cupcakes to everyone, I brought one over to Embry.

"So... when are you going to tell her?" I asked quietly, licking the frosting off my finger.

He took his cupcake and sighed. "Soon? I don't want to stress her out... with the babies and Rick," he trailed off, still staring at my sister.

"In my opinion, sooner would be better than later," I said, patting him on the back.

He nodded. "I just can't lose her," he said quietly. "She's only just started to really warm up to me, ya know?"

"She trusts you, Em. You'll have to tell her sooner or later," I said, tossing a smile at him.

"Rachel! Can we open presents now?" Nikki asked as she bounced in Paul's lap.

"Of course, Nick," I said, moving back over to the table.

"Oh! Mine first!" Rebecca said throwing a small rectangular package towards Nikki. "It's from Embry too," Rebecca added quickly.

The little girl quickly tore open the present, revealing the first season of Hannah Montana on DVD.

Nikki jumped in Paul's lap. "Paul! Rachel! We can watch it all the time now!" she said excitedly.

Paul and I looked at each other before glancing at Rebecca who's smirk at grown. "Yay," we both said unenthusiastically.

My dad chuckled before lifting a large bag onto the table. "Here ya go, kiddo."

Nikki smiled brightly and pulled out the large teddy bear that I had helped my dad pick out. She squealed loudly, causing Paul to cringe. "I love him! I will call him Billy, because he was from Billy," she told us. My dad smiled at her. I knew he secretly loved having a little girl around, and couldn't wait for the twins to come. "Thank you, Billy."

"Anything for you, Nikki," my dad said, still smiling at her.

"Alright, Nick. Your present from Rachel and I is outside, you have to close your eyes so I can bring it it," Paul said as he lifted himself out of the seat. Nikki hopped onto Billy's lap and slapped her hand over her eyes.

Paul chuckled before walking outside and wheeling in the bike. "Alright, Nick, you can open your-"

"A new bike!" she screeched before Paul got the chance to finish his sentence. She leapt off of my dad and sprinted to the bike. "I love it! This is the best birthday ever! Thank you Paulie and Rachel," she said jumping onto the seat.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," I said, kissing the top of her head.

"Can I ride it tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

Paul grinned. "If it stops raining."

She nodded and reached up gripping Paul's shoulders. He lifted her easily. "Paulie, can we watch Hannah now?"

Paul nodded. "I'm sure Rebecca and Embry would love to watch it with you, right guys?"

Nikki looked at them hopefully as they slowly nodded, glaring at Paul. "Yes!" she yelped as she jumped from Paul's arms and into the living room. Rebecca and Embry followed her, shaking their heads as they walked.

"I think I'm gonna head out, Rach," my dad said as he turned his chair towards the door. "Mariner's are playing tonight, so I'm gonna head to Charlie's."

"Okay, be careful. It's really coming down out there," I said, nodding towards the window.

He waved his hand at me. "You worry too much." Nikki saw him heading towards the door and skipped over to him, kissing his cheek lightly.

"Thank you, Billy," she said softly.

"You're welcome, Nick. Happy Birthday," he smiled down at her. "I'll see you around, Rebecca. Bye Rachel."

"Bye," we said in unison. He shook his head grinning and moved out the door. Paul followed him to help him into his truck.

I walked back into my kitchen and started cleaning up the mess the small party caused. Paul's wet arms slid around my waist and I jumped.

"You're soaked and now I'm soaked," I said, trying to peal myself off of him.

He grinned. "I'm not letting go, so it's useless to try, Rach," he said as he leaned down, kissing me softly.

I sighed and relaxed into his arms. "We're going to have to change now," I said kissing him again.

"Sounds nice," he said, pulling me closer to him.

I smiled and looked down at the counter. "You going to open that letter?"

"Yeah, I forgot about it," He said, releasing me from his warm, wet arms. "You can go change. Will you grab me a new shirt? My shorts aren't that wet."

I nodded and kissed his cheek before walking out of the room to change. I laughed as I walked by Embry and Rebecca who were both asleep as Nikki watched intently.

Changing quickly into a tank top and shorts and grabbed a shirt for Paul. I walked back into the kitchen to see him sitting at the table with his head in his hands.

"Is everything okay?" I asked as I placed the dry shirt on the table.

Paul shook his head and my stomach dropped. "My parents left," he said, clearing his throat and dropping the letter on the table. "They aren't coming back and I don't know where they are," he whispered.

**Wow... time flies when you're freaking out over exams, huh? I tried to make the chapter a little bit longer to make up for it.... but then I left you with a little big of a cliffhanger! I'm a mean kid, what can I say**

**Reviews = awesome. 35 amazing reviews. I love you all so so much for sticking with me through my first year of college lol. Sticking it out through random updates and short chapters isn't fun but I hope you all love the characters like I do. I really do love this story and each and every one of your reviews. You're awesome, enough said. **

**So I finished All My Loving, if you haven't read it, check that out. I also have mapped out another story, but that definitely will not be out until at least the summer. And even then, I want to have the majority of it written so that I can update regularly. It is a Cedric/OC story, so any Harry Potter lovers, look out for that in the next few months.**

**Alright I will stop talking. I love you. You're fantastic. **

**Maddison.**


	20. Chapter 20

I don't own anything

Chapter 20

"They're what?" I asked quietly.

"Gone. Something about California? What the hell are they going to do there?" Paul's arms were beginning to shake as he stared at the wrinkled piece of paper on the table.

"Hey," I said softly, grabbing his quaking hand. "We'll be alright. Everything is going to be okay."

Paul pulled his hand away ran it through his hair. "What kind of parents are they? First my mom hits us, and then my dad thinks it's a good idea to just up and leave?" The shaking in his arms began to grow violently. "He didn't even say goodbye to her. It's her birthday for gods sake!"

He looked down at the paper again before scoffing. " 'Your mother needs help' You're damn right she does. What kind of parents leave on their eight-year-olds birthday? And why California? There are good rehab centers in Seattle, aren't there?"

He looked at me, expecting an answer. "Uh, probably. It's a big enough city," I said helplessly.

"Exactly," he looked at the letter again and made a growl like noise.

"Paul, maybe we should go outside," I said quietly, looking towards the living room. Nikki was still engrossed in the TV show, but Embry and Rebecca were glancing our way.

"No, you stay inside. I'm going for a walk. Don't wait up," he said suddenly, throwing off his shirt and stalking out the door.

I jumped as the door slammed in the wind. I glanced at the paper that laid forgotten on the table. Shaking my head, I folded it up and placed it back in the envelope. My body fell into a chair at the table and I placed my head in my hands.

"What happened?" I heard my sister ask as she pulled the seat next to me out and sat in it.

"I don't know, Becks. He- he got a letter from his dad and apparently his parents are gone. California or something? Paul-he, uh, he freaked out and now he is on a walk. He told me not to wait up for him."

"A walk? It's disgusting out... whatever. Isn't that a good thing though? Them leaving." Rebecca asked quietly. I looked up at her, wondering how this could be a good thing. "I mean, she's safe now. Right?"

I sniffed and looked into the living room to see Nikki sitting on Embry's lap, laughing about something that happened on the show. "I guess..."

"And she can stay here all the time now. No more worrying about what could be going on. No more bruises or tears, you know?" Rebecca added.

Thunder rambled through the sky, causing me to jump in my seat. "God, I hope he is oka-" a wolf's howling interrupted my sentence and I slammed my head on the table, knowing it was Paul in the woods.

"Jesus! That sounded really close," Rebecca said, peering out the window. "Since when do wolves come this close to town?"

I waved my hand, brushing off the question. I heard Embry chuckle in the next room, highly doubting he was laughing about the show. "I hope he comes back soon."

"Especially with those wolves outside, I hope he doesn't get hurt," she said quietly. "Do you want Embry and I to stay until he gets here? I would totally understand if you didn't want to be alone. I wouldn't want to be alone."

"No, I think we will be fine," I whispered, my head still resting on the cool wood of the dining table.

"You sure?" she asked, rubbing my back softly.

I nodded and turned my head to look at her. "Thanks, Becca. Maybe you're right, this could be a good thing."

"It will be a good thing, I know it," she said, winking at me. I rolled my eyes and looked outside as lightning flashed in the window. "Well it's getting pretty bad out, and I think that if Embry watches anymore of that show, he will be singing along with the songs."

I chuckled and hugged her. "Thank you, Rebecca."

"I love you, Rach. Everything is going to be alright, don't stay up too long waiting for your idiot boyfriend. Who goes for walks during thunderstorms, really," she said sarcastically.

"I love you too," I said as I followed her out to the living room. I plopped down on the couch next to Nikki. "You're off the hook, Em. No more Hannah Montana for you tonight," I said flashing a small smile.

"Thank god," he muttered under his breath. "Happy birthday, kid," he said, patting Nikki on the head.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Rebecca repeated, kissing Nikki's forehead softly.

"Thank you," she said, resting her head on my lap. "This was the best birthday ever," she said after Embry and Rebecca walked out the door. "Where is Paulie?"

I sighed and draped my arm over her shoulders. "He went for a walk," I said quietly.

"In the rain? He is so weird," she rolled her eyes as she leaned into my body. "Hey, Rach? Can we stay up real late and watch movies?"

I chuckled. "Of course, Nick. No scary ones though."

"Okay, how about Nemo? Do you have Nemo?" she asked as she hopped over to my DVD collection. She quickly looked to through the movies, pulling out Finding Nemo and placing in my hand. I placed the DVD in the player and started it.

Nikki rested her head in my lap as the movie started. I had a feeling she was going to fall asleep pretty fast.

I gently pulled Nikki so that she was laying on the couch and I slid in behind her, also falling asleep as the movie dragged on.

I was jostled awake as I felt warm arms wrap under my legs and arms, lifting me off the couch. "Paul?"

"I'm sorry I left on you, Rach," Paul whispered. "I won't do it again."

I yawned, resting my head on his shoulder. "It will all be okay, Paul."

He laid me onto the bed and curled up next to me. "I was freaking out. I couldn't calm down, and I didn't want to hurt anyo-"

I kissed him softly. "Don't worry about it."

Paul kissed me again and pulled me closer to him. He spun me around and pressed his warm lips to my shoulder.

"She's safe now. We don't have to worry anymore," I whispered, leaning back into his arms.

Paul nodded. "I guess... how are we going to explain to her that they just up and left?"

"I think we just need to tell her the truth," I said, curling into his side. "They went to California and we don't know when they are coming back."

"If they are coming back," Paul mumbled into my hair.

"Don't worry about them, Paul. She's happy here, and you're happy here, right?"

"Of course," he said quietly, tightening his embrace.

"Then be happy," I said smiling at him as I relaxed into his arms.

He nodded. "You're right. I should be thrilled. I'll know that she's safe at all times."

I silently agreed with him, kissing his jaw softly. We fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying each others warmth and stealing kisses every few minutes.

A single knock on our bedroom door brought us back to the real world. Paul smile and kissed me one more time. "Come on in, Nick."

The door knob turned and Nikki stumbled into the room. "Can I sleep with you guys?"

"Sure, sure." I said as I pulled back the covers. She climbed into the large bed and stepped over me to lay between us.

"I had a dream about a vampire trying to get me and Nemo," she said as she rested her head on Paul's arm.

I chuckled. "We can't watch any movies without you having nightmares, sweetheart."

Paul made a face of disgust, ignoring my comment. "I can guarantee you that no vampire will ever get you."

"What about Nemo?" she asked through a yawn.

"I don't think vampires like seafood, kid," Paul said, letting out a little laugh.

"Me either, it's yucky."

I smiled. "You do so like seafood, silly. You had fish sticks for lunch yesterday."

"Oh, just kidding then," she said sleepily.

Paul laughed and pulled both of us closer. "Get to sleep, Nikki." She nodded and cuddled into his warm chest. Paul leaned over her, kissing me on the forehead. He relaxed into the bed.

The next morning I woke up to an empty bed, hearing giggling in the kitchen. I threw back the covers and walked quietly through the hall.

Nikki and Paul were both covered in flour and eggs and Nikki was laughing uncontrollably.

"What's going on in here?" I asked, trying to hide my grin.

Paul sighed. "I told you you were going to wake her up, Nick."

The little girl giggled again. "It's not my fault that you spilled everything. You look silly with pancakes all over you."

I bit my lip, still trying to stop from smiling. "Is that what you're trying to make?"

"We wanted to make breakfast for you since you are always making it for us," Paul said quietly.

I allowed the smile to break through as I walked over to the pair. "That's sweet," I said, kissing the both on the cheek. I licked my lips. "Mmm, pancake mix." Paul groaned and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Ew, you two are gross. I'm going to take a shower, it is all in my hair," Nikki said before skipping down the hall to the bathroom.

I grinned as I reached up to kiss Paul's pancake batter covered neck, dragging my tongue across his skin. "How did you manage to get the mix here?"

Paul moaned. "Does it matter? If it's got you doing this, then I should think about doing it more often."

I smiled and kissed his lips softly, running my hand through his hair. "Ew, Paul it is all in your hair. What were you and Nikki doing?"

"We were trying to break the eggs like you do, with one hand. Then I said she could mix the batter and she did it too fast and it went everywhere. Then she thought it would be funny to wipe her hand on my head, so I did the same to her."

I rolled my eyes. "Lovely. I hear Nikki getting out of the shower. I think you should get in the shower while I make breakfast."

Paul frowned. "What if I get lonely?"

I snorted. "I think you can manage by yourself."

He chuckled. "Let me make breakfast, again. But I promise I'll be successful this time."

"Okay, but get a shower first. You're starting to attract bugs," I said, kissing him one more time.

Nikki walked passed Paul as he headed towards the bathroom.

"Alright, kid. You're going to help me clean up, then I'm going to change because your brother thought I should also be covered in this mess," I said as I tossed Nikki a wet rag.

"Yeah, you have big hand prints on your back, Rachel," Nikki pointed out.

We worked together to clean up the messy kitchen. Once Paul got out of the shower, it was restored to the spotless room that it was last night.

"Nikki, I think I can handle making breakfast myself this time," Paul said as he patted his sister on the head.

She shrugged her shoulders and sat at the table to watch him.

Paul kissed me on the forehead. "After breakfast we'll tell..."

I nodded. "Sounds good. I'm going to hop in the shower while you're doing this. No messes this time, got it?"

Paul grinned. "I'll try my best," he said, kissing me again.

"Why do you guys kiss so much?" Nikki asked from the table.

"Because she tastes so good," Paul whispered in my ear, not quite loud enough for his sister to hear.

I bit my lip and walked towards the bathroom.

When I walked back into the kitchen, Paul was placing some scrambled eggs onto a plate. Nikki was already digging into her eggs and had two pieces of toast sitting on her plate.

Paul looked over to me and smiled. "Just in time, and no mess," he said as he handed me the plate.

"Looks good," I said as I walked over to the table.

"I told you I could do it," he grinned as he sat across from me with a plate holding three times more food than mine.

"Can we go to the beach today?" Nikki asked, eggs tumbling out of her mouth.

"Oh. Nick. Chew, swallow, then talk, okay?" I said, chuckling to myself.

Nikki carefully swallowed her food then repeated, "can we go to the beach today?"

"Maybe. We have to have a meeting today," Paul said quietly.

"What kind of meeting?" the eight-year-old asked.

"A family meeting," I cleared up as I swallowed a bite of my toast.

"Oh. With my Rachel family or my Mom and Dad family?"

Paul took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. "This family. Now finish up your breakfast so we can get this over with."

I took mine and Paul's empty plates and placed them in the sink. Nikki took another bite of her toast before handing me her plate also.

"So, what's the meeting about, Paulie?"

Paul looked down at his sister and rubbed his eyes again. "Go out in the living room. We will be right out, okay?"

Nikki nodded and skipped out to the couch.

"You okay?" I asked quietly as I rubbed his back.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this," he said, sighing.

"It will be fine. I'm going to be right there to help you, alright?"

"I know, I just don't know how I am going to break it to her," he said quietly. "She might not miss Mom but she still loved my dad. She isn't going to understand that he just left without saying good-bye to her."

"Then it is our job to make her understand that she has us to matter what, and that we aren't going anywhere. And that, even though your parents continue to make bad decisions, they love her too."

Paul scoffed at that. "I thought you wanted to tell her the truth."

"I don't think your parents hate her, or your for that matter. I think it's sort of impossible to not love your children," I said quietly.

"They have a great way of showing it."

"I know," I said quietly. "But we don't have to worry about any of that anymore, okay. Once we tell her, we can move on."

"I still don't know what I'm going to say to her."

"Well, whatever it is, it will be great. You're the best big brother she could ask for and she trusts that you will make things okay in her life."

"You think?" he asked as he glanced at his sister who was laying on the couch.

"I know. She loves you, you know that."

Paul nodded. "Yeah. She loves you too, you know. You've been so great to us. I know I tell you that a lot, but I can't stress how amazing this has all turned out."

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's do this, shall we?"

He nodded and led the way into the living room. Nikki sat up as soon as Paul fell onto the couch.

"You take a long time to get ready for family meetings," Nikki pointed out as I sat down beside Paul.

Paul sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"Did I do something wrong?" Nikki asked quietly.

"Of course not, sweetheart," I said, combing my fingers across her hair. "Go ahead, Paul."

"Nick, I, ugh. I got a letter from Dad yesterday," Paul said, pulling his sister onto his lap.

"Why did he send you a letter? He lives two miles away."

Paul looked at me, his eyes pleading for help. I rubbed his arm reassuringly, silently urging him to go on.

"Dad is in California, Nikki," Paul said quietly.

"Why?"

"He and Mom moved there, apparently," he said, his voice lower than before.

"When?"

"I don't know. Sometime since the last time you were there."

"Why did they leave?"

"Dad said to get help for Mom." Paul was answering all of her questions as best as he could.

Nikki's lip started to shake and I felt my heart breaking for her. Paul wrapped his arms tightly around his sister as she started to cry.

"Why didn't they say goodbye to me?"

"I don't know, Nick," Paul said into her little shoulder. "But I'm still here, and so is Rachel. And we love you more than you know, okay."

Nikki sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "I don't think I like family meetings."

Paul chuckled and I smiled at her. "Well, that's all we have for this one. Maybe the next one will be a little bit happier," I said, kissing her forehead.

"Does that mean we can go to the beach now?" she asked quietly, wiping the tears off her cheeks.

"Sure, Nikki. You're okay, right?" Paul said, pinching her cheek lightly.

She nodded. "It's a good thing I have two families I guess, right?"

"Right. Now go put on your bathing suit, this families going to the beach," Paul said, nudging her towards her room.

"Are you okay, Paul?" I asked, moving into his lap.

He kissed me sweetly. "I think I'll be fine. I'm going to the beach with my family, it doesn't get much better than that."

**Well..I'm done for the summer. Hopefully that means I can update more. I got a lot of reviews and a few PM's demanding that I updated so I hope that this quenches you guys's thirst for some Going Home lovin! haha**

**read and review, I tried to fill in some fluff with the drama... I hope you like it**

**I really really do love you guys for reviewing. You're all great.**

**Mainly Maddison (loves her readers)**


	21. Chapter 21

I don't own anything

Chapter 21

I tapped my pencil against the wooden table as I looked over my first week lesson plans again. School was starting in two weeks and I had been instructed to turn in my plans a week before the first day.

Being a teacher at La Push Reservation Elementary School was going to be a little different than my student teaching had been in Seattle. For one, my class size was dropping from thirty kids to fifteen. Also, instead of having three fourth grade classes, I would be the only fourth grade teacher at the school. La Push was a small area, and there was no need to split up the small numbers of students.

Paul walked in the side door and fell into the chair across from me. "I'm exhausted."

I smiled at him and dusted some dirt out of his hair. "He works you guys too hard. You worked for ten straight hours last night and the night before. What could be so bad that he needs you guys out there twenty-four-seven?"

Paul's eyes fell from mine, causing concern to rush through me. "I'm going to go get a shower."

"Hey, wait up. Is something going on?" I asked quietly as I clutched his large forearm. Nikki was coloring a picture for me on the living room floor and I didn't want to worry her.

"Sam doesn't want you guys to worry. It's really not that big of a deal," he said, kissing me forehead. "Don't lose sleep over this, it will be okay."

"But... you're safe right?"

He nodded, but didn't look at my eyes. "I'm getting a shower now, alright?"

"Right," I said quietly. I didn't like that he felt like he couldn't tell me what was going on.

I sighed, trying to bury my irritation, and fell onto the couch, watching Nikki as she scribbled on the sheet of paper.

"Rach, don't be mad at me, please," Paul said, his voice low and sad.

"I'm not mad. I just want to know that you're going to come back to me in one piece. Go get a shower, you're dragging dirt though the whole house," I said, turning away from him.

I heard him sigh as he walked into the bathroom. The shower turned on and I leaned back into the couch.

"Please don't be angry at Paul, Rachel. He will be very sad," Nikki said as she added some purple to her drawing.

"I'm not angry, Nick," I said, patting her head. "What are you drawing?" I asked, changing the subject.

"A flower," she picked up the paper and showed me. "Can we plant a garden?"

"Not here, maybe at my dad's house. He would like that," I noticed the shower turning off and sighed. "It's a little late in the planting season, how about next spring we will plant tomatoes and lots of flowers."

"Cool," she smiled at me. "I want to plant pink and purple flowers."

The phone rang annoyingly from the coffee table. "Hello?" I answered.

"Is Paul there?" Sam's deep voice huffed through the receiver.

I narrowed my eyes at Sam before tossing the phone to Paul, who was walking out of the bathroom in only a towel. He quickly caught it, not missing a beat.

"Yeah?" Paul said into the phone. "Now? But I just got-" he paused again as Sam interrupted him. He looked over at me before turning away. "Yeah, that's you're fault. Thanks a bunch." He scoffed to himself. "It's your fault because I should have been allowed to tell her fr- whatever, I'll be there in five minutes."

I looked at Paul expectingly, trying hard to not break down and jump his hot, wet, naked body. "What did he want?" I asked in annoyance.

"Quick meeting at his house," Paul said quietly. "I will be back in an hour."

I nodded, turning back towards the couch. Paul walked into our bedroom to put on clothes.

"I love you, Rachel," he whispered in my ear. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Okay," I said bluntly, turning on the television and effectively ending the conversation.

Paul sighed before kissing my cheek. "Bye, Nikki."

-----

Rachel was pissed at me. Having her angry at me was causing my control levels to drop by the minute.

This was Sam's fault. I wanted to tell her what was going on from the beginning. According to Jake, these Italian vampires are a big deal, and we shouldn't be taking this lightly.

I robotically drove to Sam's house, thinking of ways to get back on Rachel's good side.

You could buy her flowers, I thought. Girls like that kind of stuff. Or take her out to dinner. "Or I could tell her the truth," I said to myself as I turned into Sam's driveway.

Everyone else was already here, they were probably waiting on me. I slammed the truck's door clothes and walked up to the house.

"Nice of you to join us, Paul," Embry said, grinning.

I narrowed my eyes, my anger rising. "Sorry, I have a pissed off girlfriend to deal with."

"What's the matter, Paulie?" Jared teased. "Can't fulfill her needs like a real man?"

"Go to hell," I said through my teeth, glaring at him. "Trust me, her needs are fine."

"Gross," Jacob gagged from his place beside Sam.

"Can we get this over with so that I can try to fix what you've done before it gets worse?" I asked, looking directly at Sam.

"Paul, Rachel being angry with you is not my fault," Sam said calmly.

I almost laughed. "Please, if I would have told her what was going on with these vampires from the beginning none of this would have started."

"And she would be sitting home at night, worrying about you. Do you her to do that?" Sam reasoned.

"Sam, you have us working double shifts every other night. And when we're not working, we have to be here for these meetings. Rachel's not stupid, she knows something is going on and she is worrying anyways." I pointed out. "Em, how would you feel if you didn't know what was going on through all of this?"

Emily looked up from the stove. "Sam, he has a point. You're gone all hours of the night and I would be beside myself with worry if I didn't know what you were doing." She thought for a second. "I'm still beside myself with worry, but at least I know what's going on."

I smirked at Sam and he rolled his eyes. "Fine, tell her. But don't come bitching to me when she's all freaked out." I grinned and nodded. "That goes for you too, Jared. Embry, have you told Rebecca about us yet?"

He nodded slowly. "She still thinks I'm joking though. We're going to her dad's tonight so that he can sort of reinforce what I told her."

"Okay, then you can tell her too, I suppose," Sam said quietly.

"Alright, what are we here for?" Alex, one of the younger wolves asked from the corner.

"Jake?" Sam said, giving Jacob the floor to talk.

"Uh, the Cullen's are saying that the Volturi are going to be here a bit sooner than expected," Jake started.

"How much sooner?" Jared asked.

"Three days."

"Awesome, Rachel is going to murder me," I said loudly.

"Well, we don't even know if they want to fight," Jacob said. "Hopefully it just goes smoothly and nothing happens."

"Booring," moaned Collin from somewhere in the room.

"Yeah, well if a fight breaks out, my imprint has a front row seat. I would rather not have that happen," Jacob snapped.

"Anything else, Jacob?" Sam looked at the other alpha.

Jake shrugged. "We'll meet at the same place as we did the last time. Probably keeping a perimeter around the opening would be the best place for us to be. I will be up front with Nessie. If something goes wrong, I'm bolting with her on my back. Other than that... nothing."

I felt myself inching towards the door, wanting to get back to Rachel. I saw Jared and Quil doing the same thing. Jacob too seemed eager to leave and get back to the leeches.

"Alright guys, back to work," Sam ordered from his seat.

"Wait! Everyone eat some meatballs," Emily said, stirring a massive pot of meatballs.

That woke everyone up and there was a crowd around the food.

Emily wiggled out and smiled at me. "Paul, they say food is the way to a man's heart. But I think Rachel would appreciate it too if you brought home some food so that she wouldn't have worry about cooking tonight." She handed me a tupperware container filled with meatballs and sauce. "You can put it over noodles or on sub rolls. She will like it, I promise."

I nodded. "Thanks, Em. I'm going to need all the help I can get."

I walked out to my truck and pulled out of the driveway. Speeding the whole way home, I got back forty-five minutes after leaving.

Entering the house, it was dark and quiet. Worry rushed though me. "Rach? Nikki?"

I walked into the kitchen and set down the meatballs. "Hello?" I called out again. I faintly heard a giggle coming from outside and relief ran through my veins.

Opening the side door, I saw Rachel and Nikki picking dandelions from the grass behind the apartments.

---

"Paulie" Nikki yelled from beside me.

I looked up to see her running towards Paul, who looked at me longingly.

Nikki hopped up into his arms. "We picked flowers for you, Paulie. Oh! Rachel caught a butterfly! It landed right on her finger."

"That's awesome, kid. Guess what, Nick. Emily made your favorite meatballs so we can have subs tonight."

"Yes!" she yelped, skipping past Paul and back towards the apartment.

"Em's meatballs, huh?" I asked quietly, picking apart one of the flowers I was holding. Looking at Paul made it hard for me to be cross with him, but I didn't want to be left out of the loop if he was in trouble.

Paul nodded. "I figured you wouldn't be in the mood to cook," he said softly, kicking up some dirt on the ground with his foot. "Uh, would you want to talk later... about what's going on?"

"You don't have to work?"

"Not until tomorrow at noon."

I nodded, and sighed. "You know what really irritates me?"

Paul cringed, but looked at me questioningly.

"The fact that I couldn't stay angry if I tried," I bit my lip as I walked towards him, wrapping my arms around his waist. I felt his body relax and he kissed my forehead. "But I would like to know if you're in danger, because odds are if you are in danger than Nikki and I are too."

He tensed momentarily before kissing my hair. "I will never let anything happen to you two,  
he promised.

"Rachel, where are the sub rolls?" Nikki asked, poking her head out the door.

"On top of the fridge, let Paul get them," I yelled back.

Paul draped his long arm around my shoulders as he lead me back to the house. "When she goes to bed, I will tell you everything you want to know."

"Geez, Nick, turn on some lights. It's like a dungeon in here," I said, flicking on the light switch.

"Yeah, when I walked in there were no lights on and you guys weren't answering me. I thought someone came and kidnapped you guys," Paul said, messing up Nikki's hair.

I scoffed to myself as I pulled some cheese out of the refrigerator. It's scary isn't, Paul. I shook my head, not wanting to say any of it out loud. "Paul will you get the buns please?"

Paul walked over, kissing me softly before grabbing the buns. I smiled at him, what was I angry about again?

"Yum," Nikki said as she caught one of the rolls that Paul tossed to her.

"Water or juice, Nick?" I asked as I pulled out the apple juice.

"Pop!" she said enthusiastically.

I grinned. "Water or juice?"

"Juice," she said, defeated.

Paul laughed as I placed the glass of apple juice in front of his sister. "Water for you, Paul?" I asked, already knowing it was what he would want.

He nodded. "Hey Nikki. I was thinking we would have a movie night. No scary ones though."

I chuckled, knowing he was doing this on purpose. Nikki couldn't keep her eyes open when she was watching a movie that wasn't scary. The faster she fell asleep, the sooner we could talk about everything we needed to.

"How about High School Musical?" she suggested.

Paul groaned. "Fine," he moaned.

I grinned, knowing that Paul hated the songs in the movie because after watching it the first time, he had "We're all in this Together" stuck in his head for two days.

"When you're done eating, hop in the shower then we can watch the movie," I told Nikki and she nodded as she took a bite from her sub.

After an hour, Nikki was walking out of the shower and I was finishing up cleaning the dishes. Paul was in the living room, setting up pillows and blankets for our movie night. He always knew how to make a cocoon just big enough for the three of us.

I heard Paul walk into the kitchen and I smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. "Are you ready for about a half hour of torture before she falls asleep?"

I laughed. "Torture for you, I think these movies are cute."

He wrinkled his nose. "You girls and your liking of cute things."

"I like you," I whispered, kissing his jaw.

"Movie time!" Nikki yelled from the living room.

I put the movie in, and just as Paul said, Nikki was asleep a half hour later.

"It's fool proof," Paul said as he carried the little girl into her room. "Put in a movie, and she's out."

I nodded and leaned back into the pile of pillows. Paul sat down next to me and pulled be between his legs.

"Alright, I think I should start from the beginning."

I nodded for him to go on.

"Okay, so Bella and Edward... after they got married, they consummated the marriage. Apparently if a vampire has sex with a human, he can still get her pregnant. This resulted in Nessie, the little girl Jacob imprinted on.

"I guess someone saw her and reported it to some kind of vampire police because changing kids into vampires is illegal or something. The person assumed that they changed her, not she was born."

"Okay, so these vampire police are coming... how does that involve you?" I asked. "Sorry, I won't interrupt."

Paul smiled. "Don't apologize, I should have told you this months ago. Anyways, the penalty for biting a child and turning it into a vampire is death. So these vampires are basically coming to kill the Cullens, wrongfully. The Cullen family has been traveling all around, gathering their friends to support them in saying that Nessie is the product of a human and a vampire."

"And you guys are part of that support?" Paul nodded. "Okay, what's so dangerous about that?"

"Well, if the Volturi, the police, don't believe everyone... it could end up getting messy."

"They will try to fight you," I said quietly.

"Yeah, and from what Jake says, these guys aren't the people you want to mess with," Paul said, running his hand through my hair.

"Do you know when these people are going to get here?" I asked, leaning into his hand. He nodded, but didn't answer me. "When?"

"Please don't freak out, Rach. I wasn't allowed to tell you until today. And we don't even know if it will end in a fight. They might just come, see Nessi and then leave."

"When, Paul." It was no longer a question, more of a demand for him to tell me.

"Friday," he said, looking into my eyes.

My jaw dropped. "Friday? As in three days?" He nodded again. "And what if it does end up being a fight. What if you get hurt? What if you die?"

"I don't know, Rach. We're pretty tough though, and we know what we're doing. We're hoping to outnumber them."

"What about Nikki? What happens if you get hurt? I'm not her legal guardian, Paul! I could lose her and you at the same time, and I don't think I could do that."

"No one will get hurt, Rach. They might not even want to fight. One of the Cullen's is friends with these Volturi, no one knows that we are going to fight. And even if one of us does get hurt, we heal so fast. Everything will be fine."

"You can't promise me that, Paul," I whispered.

He shook his head. "No, I can't. But I can promise that I will be as careful as possible so that I can ensure that I'll come home to you."

I sighed. "I guess that's all I can ask for," I whispered, cuddling further into his warm chest. "Thank you for telling me."

"I had to. You being mad at me is the worst feeling I've ever experienced. It made me sick to my stomach," he confessed. "Thank god you're not a psycho girlfriend who is constantly pissed at me, I couldn't handle that."

I giggled. "Well I'm glad I'm not a psycho girlfriend either."

Paul shrugged. "I would still love you, but don't go changing anytime soon."

I ran my hand under his tired eyes. "You should get some sleep. You've been up for days and you have to work again tomorrow."

"Let's go to bed," he said, yawning.

"I'm pretty comfortable right here," I suggested, pulling one of the sheets over my legs.

Paul smiled. "Sounds good to me. I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too, Paul, so much," I kissed his cheek as he squeeze me closer to him. He may be facing a troop of vampires in a few days, but for right now, he was safe and sound with me.

**Alrighty... I updated a bit sooner than usual. Updating monthly is no fun, I hope I never have to do that again. I assume everyone saw the MTV Movie awards. I was a bit disappointed with Rob Pattinson. It seemed like every time he talked, he got less and less attractive haha. Edward Cullen Robert Pattinson by far!**

**As always, thank you all so so much for the reviews. It's really awesome that I could leave you all in the dark for so long and then still get 36 reviews from you. So again, you're great and I love everyone who reads this story. **

**Keep up with the reviews, and hopefully I will find the time to update much sooner!**

**I love you guys**

**WAIT! Also! I need a beta... but I have no idea how to get one or what to do when I do get one. lol so if any of you can explain the process to me, that would be fantastic. Thanks :)**

**Maddison.**


	22. Chapter 22

I don't own Anything

Chapter 22

Rachel, it will be fine. Hopefully Nikki will just sleep through the whole thing," Paul said, kissing my forehead again as we stood on Sam and Emily's front porch.

The three days leading up to the confrontation with the vampires flew by and now I was clinging to Paul's warm body for as long as time would allow.

Sam cleared his throat from behind us, notifying Paul that they were about to head out.

Paul nodded to him and kissed me softly. "I'll be back before you know it."

I scoffed quietly before kissing his cheek. "Please, please be careful for me and for your sister."

"I promise I will be as careful as possible," he said, running his hand down my face. "I love you, Rach."

I fought the tears that were filling my eyes. I felt pathetic, but I couldn't stop it from happening. "I love you too, Paulie," I whispered, using Nikki's nickname for him.

"Okay, someone will be staying here to hold down the fort. I will see you in a few hours," he assured me before kissing me again. He held the door open for me and I reluctantly walked into the house, letting go of his warm hand. "Later, Rach."

I chuckled softly. "Later."

I turned around after he shut the door and sat at the table with the other girls. Nikki was in the living room with Claire fast asleep.

"Nice of you to join us, Rach," Rebecca said, smirking as she rubbed her rapidly growing stomach.

"Welcome to the club, Becks," I said back. The other girls in the group chuckled at us. "Do you know everyone?"

Rebecca nodded. "Embry introduced me to them." She looked around at all the girls then came back to me. "So... what do you guys do at these things? Sit around and worry about what trouble the guys are getting into?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I like to cook. The pack is alway hungry when they get back, and it keeps my mind off of Sam."

Kim nodded, agreeing with Emily. "We do anything to distract ourselves. Paint our nails, play cards, anything."

"Well, that's good I guess," I said, having never been to one of these kind of things before either.

"How are your babies, Rebecca?" Emily asked, eyeing my sisters growing stomach.

"Great so far. My doctor says that they are good sizes for twins. They are rolling around a lot though, I hope they aren't fighting already," she said, smiling as she rubbed her bump.

"I bet Embry is getting anxious to meet them, he loves kids," Emily told my sister.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "He's really great. I still can't believe he has stuck around for all of this."

"Rebecca,'' I groaned. "Embry wouldn't leave you for a million dollars. And he definitely wouldn't leave those little girls in there. He loves them as much as he would love his own kids."

My sister shrugged. "I guess so, he hasn't run away yet," she said, smiling and running her hand down her stomach again.

"I bet they are dying to get out of there," Kim smiled at my sister, moving the subject away from Embry. She must have sensed Rebecca's discomfort with the topic.

"Being crammed in a little space with another person. Not my ideal place," she added.

"Are you kidding me?" Emily grinned. "Being carried around in a big water bed for nine months? That would be the life."

We all glanced at the clock as our laughter died out. "Well, ten minutes down..." I whispered to myself.

"I have brownie mix in the pantry, if you guys wanted to do that," Emily suggested.

"Let's! I love making brownies," Rebecca yelped.

I rolled my eyes. "You love eating brownies. I always end up making them."

Rebecca considered that. "This is true."

Emily came out of the pantry with seven boxes of brownie mix in her arms, dropping it all on the table. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Geez, Em. I'm guessing Embry isn't the only one who eats like a starved man?"

"It's a werewolf thing, I think," Emily said. "I always have to make enough food to

feed a small country."

Kim was already in the fridge, pulling out a carton of eggs. "Rachel, grab the two

bowls from the cupboard above the coffee pot, please."

I hopped up and went to work. It barely kept my mind off of Paul. I noticed that we were all looking out the window frequently, to see if anything was moving out there.

A half hour later, we were sitting around the bowls that we used to mix, dipping out fingers into the left over batter.

"What time do they usually get back?" Rebecca asked as she licked her index finger.

"Between four and five," Emily answered as she looked out the window.

"Man... this is way past our bedtime, isn't it girls?" My sister rubbed her stomach lightly. "I think I'm going to try to lay down for a few minutes."

"I wish I could get some sleep," Kim mumbled as she rested her head on her folded arms.

"It's only two-thirty," I groaned as I followed Kim's actions. "I hope they are okay."

"I hope they don't end up fighting," Emily sighed, also laying her head down. She quickly got up and placed the mixing bowls in the sink, turning on the water to clean them off.

My stomach rolled at the thought of something happening to Paul. It would kill me - it would kill Nikki. I started taking deep breaths to calm down. He was going to be fine.

We all jumped when the alarm on the oven went off. Emily shook her head and pulled the four huge pans of brownies out to cool off.

Five minutes later we were in the same exact positions as before. "This whole 'being locked in a house, worrying about our men' thing is boring," Kim moaned, throwing her hands in the air. "I feel like a housewife from the fifties."

I chuckled. "Speaking of wives... Em, when are you and Sam getting married?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know. With all the vampire scares and the separation of the packs, it's kind of fallen on the back burners. We'll probably end up just going to the court house and doing it there."

Kim frowned. "Is that what you want to do?"

"I would have liked to have a nice ceremony with a white dress and bridesmaids, but I don't think it's in the cards for me and Sam. And I'm fine with that, as long as I'm marrying him, I'm positive I will be happy."

"I guess," Kim said. "I would just hate to see your dreams fall away because of stupid supernatural stuff."

"I will have to talk to Sam about it," she said quietly. "I'm going to make some coffee, do you guys want any?" Emily asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Yes, please," I all but yelled. My eyes were drooping but my heart and head wouldn't allow my body to sleep.

Emily giggled. "Hopefully once this is over with, they will be free for a while."

"I hope so. I miss Paul being at home all the time," I confessed as I watched Emily make the coffee.

We made it through the entire pot of coffee within an hour, and were now making a jittery conversation.

"Maybe the coffee was a bad idea," Kim said as she tapped her fingers on the table.

"Maybe drinking it so fast was the bad idea." Emily bit her lip as she looked out the window before glancing at the clock. It was now just before four in the morning and the guys still weren't back.

"It's getting late..." Emily said quietly. "They must have started figh-"

A faint howl punctured the quiet night and the three of us jumped to the window.

"They are coming home!" Kim yelped.

"Thank god," Emily whispered from next to me. "I hope everyone is okay."

We waited in silence, staring out the window, as the howls got closer to the house. Emily sighed in relief as Sam's half naked body jumped out of the woods first, quickly followed by Jared, then Embry. Paul stumbled out a second after the others and my knees almost gave out.

Sam barely got a chance to open the door before Emily was wrapped up in his arms.

Kim and I both shuffled past them and out the door. Paul smiled widely at me and picked me up easily. I wrapped my legs around his bare torso as he hugged me tightly. "I missed you."

"One of us has too much clothes on, and it's definitely not me," Paul said, kissing my ear.

I rolled my eyes before giggling softly. "Did I say I missed you? Because I was lying."

Paul laughed. "I know that you missed me, and I also know that you can't wait to get me home and show me how much you missed me."

I shook my head, still smiling. "Maybe you're a little right." The caffeine running through my system was making me giggle-y.

Paul laughed loudly. "I'll go grab Nikki, then we can go home."

I nodded, following him back into the house, checking over his body as he walked to make sure there was nothing wrong. Emily and Sam were no where to be seen, probably already rushing to their bedroom.

The younger wolves were sitting at the table, eating the brownies we made. They were not acting at all like they had just stood face to face with a group of murderous vampires.

"Nice," Paul said when he noticed the treats. He grabbed one and threw it in his mouth before continuing to the living room to get his sister.

Embry came out of the dark room, cradling Rebecca in his arms. He kissed her forehead before looking up at me. "See ya around, Rach. I'm going to get my girls to bed."

I grinned at him. And Rebecca thought she was forcing this on him... Embry was loving every second of this pregnancy. I didn't see Embry running away from her anytime soon.

"Bye, Embry."

Paul quickly followed Embry out of the living room with Nikki in his arms. "Let's go," he said quietly, not wanting to wake her up.

I hopped up into his truck and he gently placed Nikki in my lap. She woke up for a second when Paul started his loud truck, but she quickly fell back into her slumber.

"So what happened?" I asked after a minute.

"Nothing, really. They talked for a while, then Bella did something. It scared them all away, I guess," Paul said as he turned into the parking lot. "It's a good thing we didn't fight though... I mean, we could probably take them, but there was so many vampires. It smelled awful."

I chuckled and ran my hand over his arm. "I'm just glad you're okay."

He kissed me softly before taking Nikki out of my lap and into the house. I followed him in, locking the door behind me and walked into our room.

I sat at the edge of the bed as Paul walked through the door. I checked over his form again to see if there was any harm done.

"I'm fine, Rachel," Paul said, kneeling in front of me. He cradled my face in his hands and kissed me softly. "Better than fine, actually."

"Okay," I whispered, turning my head to kiss his palm.

Paul leaned over me, laying me back on the bed. He gently pressed his warm lips to mine, moaning softly. "I love you, Rachel."

I flipped him over, straddling his body, "I love you, too."

Paul laced his fingers through my hair, pulling me down to him. His other hand ran up my back, pulling off my tank top.

I felt him smile against my lips like he always did went he removed a piece of my clothing, knowing he was one step closer to showing how much he loved me. He then slid my shorts down my legs, caressing my smooth skin along the way.

His fingers ran up my spine as he moved for my bra.

Pounding on the front door pulled us out of our world. "Paul? Man, open up!"

"Damnit, Embry," Paul muttered as he removed himself from the bed.

"Embry?" I asked, as I jumped from the bed, throwing on my robe. "Somethings wrong," I said under my breath as I jogged to the front door.

I swung the door open to find my sister trembling in the younger boys arms. "What happened," I demanded as I pulled them into my house.

"He's there, Rachel," my sister stuttered as Embry laid her on the couch.

"Who, sweetie?" I asked, running my hands through her hair, attempting to calm her down.

Embry was talking to Paul in a hushed voice across the room. Paul walked over to me, kissing my forehead. "I will be right back, okay?"

"No, it's not okay," I said, grabbing his wrist. "Who's here, Rebecca?"

"R-Rick," tears started falling down her cheeks. "He is at my apartment."

My throat caught and I turned to Paul. "What are you going to do?"

"Scare him away, that's all. I promise," Paul said, kissing my forehead. I noticed an SUV turning into the parking lot outside.

"Did he see you guys?" I asked Embry and Rebecca. Neither answered, both were too busy shaking. Embry in anger, and my sister in fear. "Embry, did he see you or Rebecca?"

"Of course he did!" Embry yelled. "He was sitting on couch when we walked in. He tried to hit her, so I went with my instincts and got them out of there," he said, squeezing his shaking hands into fists.

"Rebecca, what kind of car does Rick drive?" I asked softly.

"A Denali," she answered.

"Shit," Paul spat out as he closed the curtains as a car door slammed shut outside of the apartment. "Rachel, you have to go take Rebecca into Nikki's room. Lock the window and the door, okay?"

"What about you, though?" I asked nervously.

Paul smiled. "I will be fine, what's a normal guy going to do to your werewolf boyfriend?"

"I don't know, shoot you? This guy is craz-" A knock on the door interrupted me. Paul pulled me and my sister off the couch.

"Nikki's room. Now. Please, lock the door," he begged as he pushed us down the hallway.

"What's going on, Rachel?" Rebecca asked as tears fell from her eyes.

"Rick must have followed you guys here. It's all going to be okay. Embry and Paul are going to get rid of him," I said as I locked the door.

Nikki sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing, Rachel?"

I locked the window that led outside. "Paulie and Embry are talking to someone in the living room, so we are coming in here to sit with you for a little while. You can go back to sleep if you can."

The muffled yelling from the other side of the door was probably going to prevent her from sleeping any time soon.

Rebecca stood by the window, watching to see when he was going to leave.

A particularly painful scream echoed through the walls before an ear piercing roar

caused the foundation of the apartment to shake.

My mind went blank as Nikki's screams added to the loudness. I squeezed her closer to me, immediately feeling her tears sink through my shirt.

"He's leaving," Rebecca said through sobs. "He ran away. They scared him away," she stuttered as she watched out the window.

"I'm going to go see if everyone is okay," I whispered, prying Nikki's little hands off of my shirt. "I will be right back, Nikki."

I slowly walked out of the room to find the living room empty. I walked towards the kitchen, stepping in a small drop of blood. My heart dropped as I followed more droplets of the red liquid to the kitchen.

Embry was on the floor with a towel, wiping up the blood. I looked to Paul who was facing away from me at the sink, bare naked.

"Paul?" I whispered into the silence.

He turned quickly, wincing as he did so. "Rach." I looked down at his hands, that were covered in his blood. He moved them to a small cut above his hip. "Rach, it's not as bad as it looks. Give me thirty seconds, I'll be fine."

"He hurt you," my heart stammered as I walked towards him. "He- where are your clothes?"

"I'm fine, like I said, give me a few more seconds. It's healing already, see?" I looked at the cut again, surprising myself by not being distracted by his body. "He took me be surprise when he pulled the knife on me, that and the pain, and the thought that you could get hurt - I lost it."

He lost it? My eyes widened. He must have been the one who changed, the one who roared. He scared Rick away. Without wasting a second, I jumped up, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He reflexively pulled me closer before trying to pull away. "Honey, you'll get blood all over you."

I shook my head. "You saved my sister. You scared that asshole away, I don't think he will ever come back after something like that. You saved my nieces." My brain was working on overload, not being able to process it all at once.

"She's right, man. You saved my imprint, you saved my girls. I owe you, Paul," Embry said from behind me. "But, dude, put some clothes on before she comes out here. I don't want her having to look at that."

"She'd like it," Paul countered.

"You're joking right now?" I asked quietly. "You almost get killed, and you're joking. Unbelievable."

Paul frowned. "I did not almost get killed. I was basically sucker-punched, no where near getting killed."

"Still joking around," I said shaking my head. "Un-freaking-believable."

"Hey, I'm fine. Look, not even a scar," he said, pointing to where the wound was before.

I leaned down and kissed where it was, causing Paul to moan. His naked body reacting to my kiss. "Put some clothes on, loverboy. I have a feeling that Nick's going to want to sleep with us tonight. She's terrified."

Paul frowned, but nodded. "Let me throw some shorts on before she gets out here. I don't want to have that conversation anytime soon."

I nodded and watched him shamelessly as he left to cover himself up. When I walked out of the kitchen, Paul was holding Nikki in his arms.

"I'm fine, Nick. So is Rachel. And Embry is fine too, nothing is wrong," Paul promised his sister as he laid her in the bed.

Paul pulled me between him and Nikki. "I need to hold you tonight," he whispered in my ear.

I nodded, wrapping my arms around Nikki as she cuddled into my chest, still shaking like leaf.

Once she fell asleep I nudged Paul. "Thank you, Paul. You really are my hero." He kissed my shoulder, not saying anything in response. "First you save our town from crazy vampires, then you save my family from insane ex-fiances."

Paul snorted. "I do what I can, Rach. I do what I can."

**Hey everyone! I worked hard this week to get this chapter out before I leave for vacation, which starts Saturday. Topsail Island, here I come!!**

**Would you all have killed me if I stopped with Rick knocking on the door? haha**

**I want to thank yay4shanghai, who so nicely offered to beta my story. It feels good to have a second pair of eyes looking over the chapter. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I hope this chapter can last you for a little while, because I won't be able to update for at least a week or two... maybe three :( Sorry about that, I'm sort of taking all my vacations at once. **

**Well, that's all I've got for you! Enjoy, and please keep reviewing!! I love hearing what you have to say!**

**You're all awesome,**

**MainlyMaddi.**


	23. Chapter 23

I don't own anything

Chapter 23

"Good morning, beautiful," Paul said, ruffling his little sisters dark hair.

"You too, Rach," he said, kissing my neck as I mixed up a half dozen eggs, getting ready to scramble them. He wrapped his arms around me, taking a deep breath.

"Morning," I mumbled, leaning into him. "Want some eggs?"

"Yes, I'm starved. I can't remember the last time I ate," he groaned.

"Dinner," I rolled my eyes, chuckling.

"Too long ago," Paul said, kissing me before turning to the table where Nikki was sitting. "Want some juice, kid?"

She must have nodded because Paul walked to the refrigerator and poured three glasses of orange juice for us.

"Paulie?" Nikki called quietly, almost sounding shy.

We both turned towards her, glancing at each other first. Nikki wasn't one to be shy about anything.

"What's up, Nick?" Paul asked as he placed her orange juice in front of her.

"Who was here last night? What did they want?" she asked as she nervously played around with her silverware.

Paul looked to me, his brown eyes asking me silently for help.

"He was an old friend of Rebecca's," I answered, pouring the eggs into the pan. They sizzled against the heat. "He was scaring Becca, so Paul and Embry had to ask him to leave." My explanation sounded stupid as it came out of my mouth.

"Is he gone now?"

"We hope so. Don't worry about it, Nikki. I wouldn't let anything happen to you or Rachel," Paul assured her.

"What about Becca and the babies?"

"Embry will take care of them, you know that," Paul promised.

She nodded. "It was scary last night. I didn't like it," she whispered.

I frowned as I finished up the eggs. "I didn't like it either, but everything is going to be okay, honey," I kissed her head as I placed some eggs on her plate.

I took a small amount and slid the remainder onto Paul's plate.

"Can I ride my bike around the parking lot after breakfast?"

Paul chuckled. "Sure. Rach and I will sit on the bench and watch."

"Yes!" she smiled, quickly returning to her normal self.

As soon as the plates were in the sink, Nikki was sprinting to the door. Paul followed her, unlocking the small bike and rolling it to his sister.

"Put your helmet on," I called after her. Nikki frowned, but buckled the small pink helmet onto her head.

I grabbed my lesson plans and settled myself on the bench that sat on the sidewalk beside our door.

Paul fell into the seat next to me, draping his arm across my shoulders. "How long do you think before Sam stops by?" he asked quietly.

"Are you going to be in trouble?" I wondered, looking up from my binder.

He nodded. "Most likely. He would have done the same thing though. I doubt he will be too pissed, but I still phased in front of someone who shouldn't know anything. If worse comes to worse, Embry will have my back for sure."

I nodded. "I wonder how Rebecca is doing," I thought out loud. "She was horrified last night. We all were."

"Paulie! Rachel! Look! No hands!" Nikki shouted from across the blacktop.

My heart jumped into my throat. "Nikki! Be careful, you'll give me a heart attack!" Paul chuckled as Nikki's hands fell back onto the handles gracefully. I heard her giggling as she maneuvered her bike in circles. "She is going to get herself killed on that bike if she keeps that up."

"Nah, she's adventurous. Besides, she has a helmet on. She'll be fine."

"You wait until she scraps her knee or elbow, you'll curse the day you bought it for her," I teased, poking his side.

"You're probably right," he said as his eyes followed Nikki as she weaved around the parking lot. "I'm applying for guardianship," Paul said quietly.

My head shot up. "Really?"

He nodded. "I haven't stopped thinking about it since my parents left."

"So, what does that entail?" I asked, closing my lesson plan.

"I have no clue, but I feel like I have to do it. Her legal guardians are three-hundred miles away, doing god knows what."

"I think it's great," I smiled at him. He sighed, looking relieved. "What?"

"I didn't know what you would think about it," he admitted sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes. "Thats ridiculous. Once school starts, she's going to need a guardian to sign off on everything. Plus, if something, god forbid, happens to her- you should be the one someone calls about it. Not your parents. Back to the point, we are going to have to research it. You know, find out what paperwork you need to fill out... if your parents signatures are needed. We might have to go to Seattle to get it all worked out."

"You think they will need my parents signatures?" he asked quietly, his hands automatically running through his dark hair nervously.

"Most likely-" My dad's red truck pulled into the parking lot, easily avoiding where Nikki was riding her bike. "Oh, my dad's here... with Sam."

"Awesome," Paul muttered, getting out of his seat to greet them.

"Hey, we will talk more about this later," I said, kissing his cheek. Paul smiled at me before looking up to his alpha.

Sam got out of the truck and rolled my dads chair around for him. Nikki jumped off her bike and into his lap, kissing my dad's cheek. She smiled at Sam before running back to her bike.

"Hi Daddy, Sam," I said, waving.

"Hi, Rachel," my dad smiled at me. "Becca and Embry are on their way over now."

Paul nodded. "We should move to the picnic table on the other side of the parking lot so that we can all sit and Nikki can still be occupied by her bike."

We all agreed, walking across the blacktop to the old picnic table that sat in the grass. Soon after, Embry pulled into the lot, parking and running around to help Rebecca out of the truck.

Nikki hopped off her bike again and skipped over to them, jumping into Embry's arms. When he let her down she hugged Rebecca's round stomach, patting it lightly, before running back to her bike and continuing her laps.

"I hope my girls are as sweet as her, Paul," Rebecca commented as she sat down at the table.

Paul smiled as Sam cleared his throat, subtly demanding our attention.

"I hear you had a guest last night after you got back, guys," he said, looking from Paul to Embry.

Embry sighed. "Paul saved the girls - and Rick too. If I had to listen to another sick word that came out of his mouth, I would have done a lot more than bark at him. Plus, he attacked Paul, not that it did any damage, but still. I'm still in shock about the amount of control he had in the situation."

"I can't believe you didn't kill him. If he even looked at Rachel the wrong way, last night would have ended differently," Paul said darkly. "Sorry Sam, I couldn't help it."

"I'm not here to yell at you guys. But Billy got a call from Charlie Swan in Forks, and Rick went to the police saying that a huge man-wolf was after him. Charlie wrote him off as a drunk, but he could still tell more people."

"We'll say he is crazy. I mean, who would believe him?" Embry said.

"Someone might," Sam said. "Have your neighbors said anything?"

I shook my head. "They are all older, and require the use of hearing aides. Plus they were all asleep. It seems like no one noticed, and if they have, they haven't mentioned anything."

"So there's no real witnesses besides us, so that will work out in our favor," Sam said, sounding relieved.

Paul fidgeted. "Uh, we may have one other witness... to the noise at least."

We all looked at him as he nodded towards his sister who was paddling backwards towards the apartment.

"She was awake, she asked about what was going on this morning. She didn't mention the howl though," Paul said, slipping his arm around my waist.

"Do you think anyone will ask her?" Rebecca asked.

Paul shrugged. "I don't know. Should I say something to her about it?"

"No, she's too young," Sam answered. I nodded, agreeing with him. "If she says anything, we can say she's just a regular kid with an overactive imagination. Plus, the locals around hear wolves all the time, if she says she heard it, we could say that one came closer to the apartment."

We all nodded in agreement. The guys started talking about the events that took place last night, so I looked to my sister. She was twirling a stray string in her fingers, staring at the ground.

"Becks, you okay?" I asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm still a little shaken up, I guess," she said quietly. Embry's arm slide around her waist, pulling her closer to him, but still remaining involved in the conversations with the guys.

"We all are, I think. Hopefully we won't have to deal with him anymore, especially if Charlie fined him for public drunkenness, which he probably did," I said, resting my hand on hers. "Did he say anything to you while you were at your place?"

She shrugged. "They only thing he said before he jumped at me was about him taking my babies," Rebecca cleared her throat before looking up at the grey sky, a clear sign she was holding back tears. Her arms were wrapped securely around her stomach, as if to hold her babies.

Embry noticed her actions too, quickly kissing her temple. "We won't let him anywhere near you."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Try not to worry about it, Rebecca. We will take care of you. He just happened to come on a night where we were distracted by other things, and we didn't notice him. Had it been any other night, he wouldn't have caused such a commotion."

My sister nodded. "I hope you're right," she whispered before leaning into Embry.

Embry shook his head. "Yeah, well if there is nothing else, I think we are going to head back to her place."

"Yeah, go ahead. We'll be heading out too, I think." Sam stood from the table.

My dad nodded and wheeled over to Rebecca, wrapping an arm around her. "Get some sleep, honey. No one is coming to get you or your girls."

She nodded and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Daddy."

He blew me a kiss before turning and heading towards his truck. Embry and Rebecca followed their lead, heading to their car.

"Bye, Becca! Bye Embry! Bye Billy! Bye Sam!" Nikki said, skidding to a stop in front of the table.

They all waved to her before pulling out of the parking lot.

"You want to move back to the bench?" Paul asked, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Sure," I said, standing up and taking his hand as we walked across the lot.

"So, back to what we were talking about before... you think we will have to get them to sign off? My parents, I mean," Paul asked quietly, still watching his sister.

"I really do," I pulled up my legs and rested them on his lap. "They are going to need verification that you're not stealing her from them, ya know. I think it's a pretty long process."

Paul sighed. "I just want her to be mine. I don't want my mom, or even my dad, to come back on a drunken tirade and try to take her from me."

I nodded. "Well, we need to get a lawyer and ask them how to do this. We will probably have to head to Seattle, like you said."

"I'm so lucky to have you here to help me with this. I wouldn't know the first thing to do, besides walk up to some court house and say I want to adopt my little sister," he said chuckling.

"Once we go inside, I can research the whole process on the internet. That way we won't go in completely blind to the situation. Getting a lawyer will help... if we can afford it. If not, I'm sure we can figure it out by ourselves," I said, mostly to myself to be honest. I could already feel my brain getting excited to work on this.

Paul nodded. "I think if we can do it on our own, we should, but I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe."

"Awesome," I said, pulling a blank sheet of paper out of my binder. "We can start by just googling it, ya know, to get a background on the process. Then we can go from there," I wrote _Google - Washington State Adoption Process. _"Then we can print out any papers that we need to fill out. I just need to find my printer from school." _Print papers. _

Paul raised his eyebrow, laughing quietly. "You're really going to write everything down."

"Well, yeah," I said obviously. "I wouldn't want to forget anything."

"Jake always said you were the smart one in the family. Now I am seeing you in action. It's really hot, actually. Kind of like watching the hot librarian at work, but better because I get to sleep with you."

"Ha, ha, ha. Who says you get to sleep with me?" I teased, punching his arm lightly.

"If I remember correctly, you did... a couple nights ago, pretty loudly too," he said grinning as he kissed my neck, his hot breath spilling over my skin.

I sighed, dropping my pencil. "You're distracting me," I whispered, my voice breathy.

"I think you're enjoying the distraction," he said, pulling me closer to him.

"I think so too," I grinned as I reached up to kiss him.

"Rachel! Paulie! Watch how fast I can go!" Nikki called from across the parking lot.

We looked up as she started peddling. She slowed down as she reached the house. "Cool, huh?"

I nodded. "Very cool," I said as I watched her come closer to us. She kept coming closer, not noticing the curb that sat at the end of the blacktop. "Nikki, watch for the-"

She looked down right as her front wheel ran into the cement. It wasn't enough force to send her over the handle bars, but she lost her balance and slid off the side of her bike.

Paul moved faster than I had ever seen him, catching Nikki before she hit the ground. "Whoa, Nick. You've gotta watch where your going," Paul said as he held her.

Her eyes filled up with tears. "I'm sorry, Paulie. Please don't be mad."

"Nikki, I'm no-"

"Please, don't take my bike away, Rachel. I will watch next time, I promise," she said, a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Honey, I'm not mad," Paul said, setting her on her feet. "Why would I be mad? I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I fell one time at our old house, remember? Mommy took my bike away from me. She got mad because I bled all over the floor, remember?" she said, sniffling.

Paul and I both frowned as she said this. "I'm not Mom. I won't take your bike away and I am definitely not mad. Rachel isn't either, right Rach?"

"Never, Nick," I said quietly, smiling at her.

"Can we go inside now?" Nikki asked.

"Sure, Nick. You need a bath anyways, smelly," I said, opening the door for her.

She giggled. "I'm not smelly!" she yelped as she ran towards the bathroom, throwing her helmet off as she passed me.

"I can smell you from all the way over here. Go get undressed and I will help you with the water, okay?" I called after her.

"Thank you, Rach," Paul said quietly from behind me. "I think I am going to start looking that stuff up while you're with her. I want to get this all done and over with as soon as possible." I nodded, reaching up to kiss him. He pecked me sweetly before sighing. "Ya know, I don't even remember that bike incident happening. I was so busy with the pack before that I was never around to protect her from my mom."

"You're here now," I said, rubbing his shoulders.

"Right," he whispered before kissing my forehead.

"Rachel? Can I put the bubbles in?"

"No! You put in too many last time, remember? Let me do it, Nikki," I called after her, thinking back to the bubble-filled bathroom we had to clean up last week.

"But that was fun," Nikki poked her shoulders out of the door.

"I know, but if we are going to play with that many bubbles-"

"It has to be outside. I know, I know," she said before disappearing back into the bathroom.

"You're so great with her," Paul said smiling.

I nodded. "I'm going to go clean her off, you find out all you can. Call me if you need help," I said turning around.

Paul grabbed my wrist, spinning me around and kissing me passionately. "You really are amazing, Rachel."

"I know, I get that a lot," I said, winking at him.

He chuckled before walking to the computer. I walked into the bathroom to find Nikki holding the bottle of bubbles out for me.

"Thank you, m'dear. Dunk your head before I put these in, okay," I said as I poured the bubbles into the cap. We went through our bath routine easily before Paul called my name.

"Head above the water while I'm not in here, got it?"

She nodded before blowing the bubbles off of her hand.

"What's up?" I asked, poking my head out the door.

Paul bit his lip as he looked from me to the screen. "Um, how do you feel about marriage?

**Hey everyone! I'm back from my many many vacations, which were awesome. This is a lot late coming to you, sorry about that.**

**Thank you thank you thank you to yay4shanghai, who beautifully betas this story. Thank you all too for reviewing and reading :) I want to hear from all of you though! About 250 people have this story on alert, and I want to hear what you have to say!**

**Keep on reviewing, it always makes me smile when an e-mail pops up on my phone with one of your reviews :)**

**I love you all so so much**

**Maddison**


	24. Chapter 24

I don't own anything

Chapter 24

My eyes widened before softening. "If that was your proposal, it was sort of lame." I leaned on the doorframe, looking into Paul's eyes.

Paul scoffed. "That was not my proposal, I was just asking what you thought about it."

I shrugged, wiping my wet hands on my jeans. "I think marriage is great, I guess. I've always wanted to get married and have kids."

"Good to know," Paul said, his smile lighting up is face.

"Should I be expecting anything?" I asked, biting my lip to try to stop myself from grinning like a school girl.

"I don't know," Paul said, his smile falling slightly. "This website says that it's preferred that when adopting a child for the couple to be married. Something about bringing a child into a stable household. But I don't want you to marry me because we want to adopt Nikki." He walked over to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "I want you to marry me because you want to spend the rest of your life with me. Because you love me."

I smiled into his chest as I wrapped my wet arms around his waist. "I don't think you have to worry about that."

Paul sighed as he kissed my hair. "I was hoping you would say something like that."

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked, looking up into his brown eyes.

He shrugged. "I just don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do. I mean, you just graduated college... you don't need to be forced into marriage."

I reached up to kiss his cheek. "Trust me, you aren't forcing me to do anything, Paul."

"In that case, maybe you should be expecting-"

"Rachel? Can you please rinse the bubbles off of me. I am getting prunie," Nikki said, holding up her little hands, showing the wrinkles on her fingers.

I smiled at Paul, kissing his cheek again before turning back to his sister, trying very hard to not drop everything and launch into a happy dance. Paul wants to marry me, I couldn't be happier with the conversation we just had.

Not being able to stop my smile, I grabbed the cup and began to rinse Nikki off, all the while feeling Paul's eyes on me.

"Rach, I'm going to go get some pizza. Okay?"

"Why? I can make something-" I turned to look at him, but he was already throwing on his shoes.

"No," Paul interrupted. "I'll go now," he said and he was out the door without another word.

"You're brother is weird," I said as I helped Nikki out of the bathtub, wrapping her in a towel.

"I know. I have been trying to tell you guys that for a long time," she said, giggling.

"Of course, now go dry off and put on some clothes," I said, nudging her towards her room.

She skipped off to her room and I smiled before walking to the kitchen. I pulled a head of lettuce out of the fridge and started to break it up. My mother would kill me if she knew how much pizza we ate at this house.

My heart pulled at the thought of my mom. It had been a while since she passed though my mind. Guilt ran though my heart. I had been so busy with Paul and Nikki and everything else that I hadn't thought about my mother.

I swallowed hard, shaking my head. Pulling out carrots and tomatoes from my dads garden, I added them to my salad.

"Can I help?" Nikki said, popping up next to me, causing me to jump.

"Sure, Nick. You can mix it all up, how about that?" I said, placing the bowl on the table so she could reach.

"Rachel, can I have some pepsi tonight?" she asked innocently.

"If you eat a big bowl of this salad, then yes, you can have some pop."

"Yes!" she said, clapping her hands. "When will Paul be back?"

"Well, he left about twenty minutes ago. So he should be back soon, the pizza place is right around the corner."

Another half hour went by and there was no sign of Paul. I was starting to get worried.

"No, Rach, I don't need a cell phone. There's no use for a cell phone in a small town like La Push," I muttered under my breath. Had Paul gotten a phone when we talked about it, I wouldn't be worrying like this. What if he ran into Rick? My stomach lurched at the thought of what could be going on right now.

"Rachel, can I watch tv?" Nikki asked from behind me.

"Uh huh," I said, my mind stuck in its worry for Paul.

"Can I have some pepsi now?" Nikki asked, seemingly noticing my absentmindedness.

I chuckled. "No, but nice try."

She shrugged her shoulders before walking into the living room. I heard the television switch on and the sounds of the Disney Channel coming from the other room.

I stood in the kitchen for another minute before moving into the living room to distract myself with the mindless show Nikki was watching.

As the show was ending, the door knob turned and Paul walked in the door holding two pizzas. I hopped over the couch and slammed into him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Whoa, hey there, Rach," Paul said, smiling widely as he hugged me with one arm, balancing the pizza in his other hand.

"What took so long?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, we're hungry," Nikki said, peeking her head over the couch.

Paul and I chuckled. I looked up at him. "I was worried."

"Sorry, I ran into your dad. We ended up talking for a little bit," he explained, looking away from me.

I frowned, he was lying. He couldn't look me in the eye and lie. "You're okay, then?"

He looked back down at me. "I'm fantastic," he smiled at me. "And hungry, let's open these pizzas up."

"We made salad, Paulie," Nikki said, bouncing towards the kitchen.

"Mmm, sounds good." He leaned over and kissed my cheek before picking up four pieces of pizza.

I decided to push my troubles aside and enjoy the time with Paul. If he's happy then I'm happy. I placed Nikki's pepsi in front of her, next to her bowl of salad and she jumped up happily.

"So, what did my dad have to say?" I asked casually.

Paul shrugged his hunched shoulders. "Nothing really," he said, his face breaking into a smile.

"What?" I asked, grinning back at him.

"Nothing," he said again. "This salad is really good."

"Right," I said, still smiling.

"You guys are strange," Nikki said before she bit into her pizza. "Can we go for a walk after dinner."

Paul's head snapped up. "Yes, that sounds fun."

I frowned. "But you just got a bath, Nick. You'll get all dirty, honey."

"Please, Rachel? It's not rainy and it will be fun," Nikki pleaded.

"Okay, I'll cave this time. Finish your salad though."

"Yes!" Nikki yelped.

Paul chuckled and patted his sister on the head.

Once we finished eating, Paul helped me with the dishes. He wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his head on my shoulder. I would wash and Paul would dry.

"Hey, can we go now?" Nikki said as she hopped into the kitchen.

"Sure, we're almost done," Paul said, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"Yeah, we can go," I pulled the plug on the sink, allowing the water to flow out and dried off my hands on the a towel. "Let me go put on some shoes."

I tied on my sneakers and walked out the door that Paul was holding open for me. "Thanks."

He smiled and laced his fingers with mine.

His dark eyes watched me as we entered the small path into the woods. Nikki skipped ahead of us, looking at the different bugs she could find on the ground.

"I used to walk around the woods all the time when I was in high school," I said quietly. "It was one of the reasons I didn't have a problem moving home. I missed the quiet of the forest, ya know?"

Paul nodded. "I don't have much else to base off of. The farthest I've been outside of La Push is Port Angeles."

"Really?" I was shocked, but then again, I couldn't wait to leave once I graduated. Paul didn't have that choice. He nodded, tightening his hold on my hand. "We will have to go to Seattle sometime. I can show you all the places I used to go."

"You mean the library?" Paul said chuckling.

"Ha ha ha, jerk," I pinched his side playfully.

"I couldn't help myself," he teased.

"I bet," I said, giggling.

"I don't think I could ever move away from here," Paul said quietly as he watched his sister step over a fallen branch. "Even for a few years, I don't know how you did it."

"Well, I came back... so did Rebecca," I leaned into him. "You can't get away I guess," I said smiling. "I personally think I made a good decision in coming back."

Paul stopped and looked at me. "I thank my lucky stars everyday for you coming back and meeting me. And saving my sister. And giving us a place to live. And for loving me almost as much as I love you."

Before I could say anything back, Paul was bending down on one knee. "Oh, Paul," I whispered, my heart feeling like it was melting.

"Rach, will you marry me?" he asked, grinning up at me.

When he pulled out the ring, my heart stopped. "Paul, where did you get that?" I ran my thumb over the diamond that Paul held in his hand.

"Why do you think getting pizza took so long?" he asked, still smiling at me.

"How did you know?" I asked, tears beginning to well up in my eyes.

"Back when Jake was into Bella, he mentioned once when we were patrolling. It was around the time that Sam was proposing to Emily and he was complaining about how much the ring cost. Jake said that your parents had decided when you were young that if you wanted your moms rings you could have them. I thought you would appreciate your moms rings more than anything I could pick out," Paul explained.

"Your dad said this was your favorite of the three. I hope he was right." A tear slipped down my cheek, and Paul frowned. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I just can't believe you thought to go to my dad's house and get my mom's ring," I said quietly.

"So... is that a yes?" Paul asked expectingly.

"Oh! Of course it's a yes," I said.

Paul breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, you almost gave me a heart attack, Rach."

He sweetly place the ring on my finger before jumping up and pulling me into his arms. I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist.

I wiped a few more tears away before lacing my fingers through Paul's hair, pulling his lips to mine. "Did you think I would say no?"

Paul smiled, kissing me again. "You didn't say anything. You were just asking questions, I didn't know what to think."

"I probably would have married you the minute you helped me move into my house. I was head over heels before I even knew you." I kissed him again, tightening my hold on his neck. "You say you imprinted on me, but it has to work both ways."

Paul nodded. "Thank god for that."

"Come on, slow pokes," Nikki said, running back towards us. She stopped when she saw us wrapped in each others arms. "What happened?"

Paul tore his eyes from me to look to his sister. "I - I asked Rachel to marry me, Nick."

"Did she say yes?"

Paul nodded and Nikki smiled and ran towards us, hugging Paul's legs. "Finally! We can be a real family now, right?"

Paul looked to me before setting me back on the ground. "We're going to try. Maybe we should go back to the house and talk about it all, okay?"

Nikki nodded. "Can I ride on your back?"

Paul bent down, and Nikki jumped onto his back. Paul held her up with one hand and tightly wrapped his other arm around my shoulders.

Nikki chattered about all the different bugs she saw and about how we needed a dog because all families have dogs. Paul laughed at this and I rolled my eyes.

"Honey, there are enough dogs in La Push, we don't need one."

"Fine," she huffed, causing Paul to laugh again.

"Alright, we need to have another family meeting," I said, leading them into the apartment.

"I hate family meetings," Nikki whined.

"Hopefully this one will be a little better than the last one." Paul put her back on the ground.

Nikki wasn't convinced and stomped into the living room.

"What if she doesn't want us to adopt her?" Paul asked under his breath.

"You worry too much," I said, kissing his cheek. "Let's just talk to her about it and see what she has to say, okay?"

Paul smiled. "I can't wait to marry you," he kissed my lips softly before grabbing my hand and walking into the living room where Nikki sat on the couch with her arms crossed.

"Nick, I think you've got the wrong idea. Not all family meetings are bad, honey," Paul explained as he sat next to her.

"Nothings wrong with Mom and Daddy?" she asked.

Paul looked to me. "I couldn't tell you, Nick. I haven't heard from either of them since your birthday.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Nikki." I sat on the other side of her.

Paul smiled. "Well I asked Rachel to marry me, remember. And once we are married, we want to adopt you, Nikki."

Nikki looked at us for a few seconds, not saying anything.

"What do you think about that, honey?" I asked.

"What about Mom and Dad?" she asked, looking at Paul.

"Like I said, Nick, I have no idea what's happening with our parents. With you starting school, you need to have a legal guardian to sign off on everything. Since they are gone, I think I need to be that person for you. Do you understand that?"

"Mommy and Daddy don't want me anymore? "

"Oh, Nikki. It's not like that-"

"Then why did they leave in the first place?" Tears were starting to build up in her eyes.

Paul's eyes pleaded with me for help as he pulled his crying sister into those warm arms.

"Nikki, I think your parents wanted you to be happy when they left you with us. Have you been happy?" She nodded, wiping her eyes on Paul's shirt. "Good, sweetheart. We just want you to stay happy, and I think your mommy and daddy would want you to stay happy too."

"Would you be happy if you adopted me?" she asked quietly.

"I would be more than happy, Nick. And so would Paulie."

She wiped her eyes again. "What if Mom and Dad want me back?"

Paul sighed. "I guess we will get to that if that happens, okay?"

She nodded. "When will you adopt me?"

"We haven't really gotten to that point yet. But after we get married, we will file for adoption papers," Paul told her.

"Well, when are you getting married?"

Paul chuckled. "I asked her to marry me about fifteen minutes ago, kid. We haven't talked about it yet."

"Are we done?" Nikki asked

"I guess so," Paul said uncertainly. "Nikki, if you have anything you want to talk about, you know we're always here for you."

She nodded before walking into her room.

"That went... okay, I guess," I said, moving onto Paul's lap.

"I wish I could give her more answers about my parents," Paul said sighing.

"You're doing the best you can, Paul," I rubbed his shoulders, kissing his neck softly. "So, when do you want to get married?"

"Uh, there's something I want to do before we set a date or anything," Paul ran his hands through my hair slowly, causing my to shiver slightly.

"Anything," I whispered.

"I want you to take me to the cemetery to meet your mom."

**Another semi-cliffhanger... Did you all really think that was Paul's proposal? lol, my Paulie has a bit more tact than that! haha I hope his real proposal was a bit more romantic than the first initial asking about marriage :)**

**Thank you to my beta reader yay4shanghai. She's great! And thank you all yet again! 53 reviews!!! I almost died when you guys took this story to 600 reviews. You're all truly amazing, and I hope you all keep reviewing. Plus everyone who doesn't review, I want to hear what you think! Even if it's bad haha.**

**Alright, sorry about the shortness of the chapter and the longness of the author's note. **

**Read and Review, lovelies !**

**Maddi**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I don't own anything.

"What about this one?" I asked, starring at myself in the mirror.

Rebecca wrinkled her nose. "It's too white."

"Rebecca, it is a wedding dress. Traditionally, wedding dresses are white," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah if you're a virg-"

"Ahem," I cleared my throat loudly, nodding my head towards Nikki. Rebecca shrugged and turned to pull another dress off the rack. "You don't like this one then?"

"Not really, but it's your wedding dress, Rach." Truth be told, I didn't really like this dress either... or any of the other six dresses I've tried on so far. "Try this one."

I walked out wearing dress number seven and Rebecca smiled at me. "I like this one." Nikki looked up and nodded.

"Me too! You look like a model, or like a barbie doll." She bounced over to me and grabbed my hand to turn me towards the mirror.

"Oh, wow. This ones really nice," I whispered as Nikki squeezed my hand. The strapless white dress wrapped around my torso and flowed to the ground, making my dark skin glow. I could already imagine the look on Paul's face as he saw the simple beauty me in this dress as I walked towards him on our wedding day.

Rebecca waddled over and lifted the price tag. "It's over your budget, Rach."

My heart dropped. "How much over budget?"

"Two hundred dollars," she said frowning.

My shoulders slumped. "Okay, next dress then." I looked at myself one more time before heading back into the fitting room.

"But this ones perfect, Rachel!" Nikki squealed. "I will give you all my allowance!"

I smiled as I bent down to Nikki's height. "Don't worry about it, Nick. There will be other dresses just as beautiful as this one."

Nikki was still frowning but she nodded. I tried on three more dresses, but my mind kept moving back to the beautiful seventh dress I tried on.

"Okay, let's go home. I'm not in the mood for this anymore," I said as I came out in my jeans and t-shirt. Rebecca gave me a sad smile as she watched me run my hand over the dress one last time. "Besides, as long as I'm marrying Paul, I will be happy. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing."

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Nikki hugged my waist as we walked out of the small dress shop and towards the truck.

Once we were back on the road towards La Push, I sighed loudly. I truly was sad that I couldn't get that dress, but didn't fit into the picture right now.

"So Rachel, when are you going to take Paul to the cemetery?" Rebecca asked, staring me down. "You can't put it off forever."

"I'm not in the mood right now, Becca. I'll take him sometime, I just don't want to talk about it." Rebecca's constant bitching about me taking Paul and Nikki to see my moms grave was getting on my nerves, and giving me a major headache. That and the stress of finding a stupid dress and planning a wedding on an extremely small budget was getting to be enough to push me over the edge.

"I just don't get why it's such a big deal anymore. It's been years, Rachel," Rebecca remarked calmly.

"It's a huge deal for me, Rebecca, so just drop it, okay. I'll do it when I'm ready," I snapped back at her. I leaned forward and flipped on the radio to drown the pounding of my head along with my sisters voice.

Rebecca raised her hands in surrender as she rolled her eyes. "Okay, geez. Calm down, I'm just saying you should do it sooner than later. School starts on Monday and you still haven't done it."

"Please drop it, Rebecca. I'm really not in the mood for this right now."

My sister continued to grill me about the topic, but I tuned her out. I had to remind myself that she was pregnant and she was being irrational about it. She knew my feelings and her crazy pregnancy hormones were taking control of her emotions, and taking it out on me.

After I dropped her off at her apartment, I sped back home. As soon as I helped Nikki out of the truck, and walked inside, I was in Paul's warm arms. After taking a few deep breaths, I was finally able to relax for the first time since trying on that stupid, expensive, beautiful dress.

"So, did you find your dress?" Paul asked, his arms still tightly wrapped around me. His warm hands ran over my back as I gripped his shoulders.

My "no" was muffled by his body, but Nikki skipped down the hall nodding her head. "We found one that was so pretty! But we couldn't get it because it cost too much."

I groaned. One of my favorite, and now least favorite, personality traits of kids is that they never lie. I wasn't planning on telling Paul about the dress, because knowing him he would do all he could to make me happy. Even if it meant finding two hundred dollars to pay for a silly dress.

"Well, how much did it cost?" Paul asked, pulling me back to look at me.

"Too much. Don't worry about it, I will find a different dress." I said, leaning back towards him.

"I don't know, Rach. This dress was so so perfect," Nikki fell back onto the couch, sighing loudly.

I closed my eyes and pulled away from Paul. "I'm going to lay down, I'm not feeling too good." Immediately after the words fell from my mouth, I wanted to take them back.

"Why? What's wrong? Are you hurt? What can I do?" Paul blurted out, slightly panicking.

"Whoa, I'm fine. I just want to lay down. I'm tired and stressed from Rebecca being on my ass all day," I reassured him, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I'm okay, I promise it's just a little headache."

Paul's forehead creased in worry. "I will bring you some Advil, okay?"

I nodded and places a chaste kiss on his lips before turning towards Nikki. "Thanks for going with me today, we will have to go again next weekend. How does that sound?"

"Good!" Nikki smiled up at me. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head before turning towards the bedroom.

Before I got to the door, Paul was dropping two red pills into my hand and held a glass of water out for me. "Thank you," I said, gulping down the tablets.

Paul kissed my temple and I sighed peacefully as the heat spread across my skin. "Go lay down, I will be there in a minute," Paul promised as he kissed my forehead again.

I slid into our big bed and pulled the covers over my head. A few minutes later, I felt Paul's heavy, heated body slide onto the mattress. I rolled over and intertwined my legs with his and molded myself into his side. I could feel my headache decreasing already with Paul's presence.

It was raining when I woke up. I smiled when I saw Paul had also fallen asleep and that Nikki was curled into Paul's other side. The clock read five o'clock, so I decided to get up to start making dinner.

I leaned forward, but was quickly brought back down to Paul's side as he tightened his hold on me.

"Where are you going?" he asked sleepily.

"I was going to make some food," I told him. Reaching up, I kissed his jaw which put a smile on his face.

"How's your head feeling?" He ran his hand through my hair as he looked at me.

"A lot better. I think I was just annoyed with finding a dress and my sisters pestering," I sighed. Maybe I should just get it over with. "Speaking of her pestering me. Would you want to go to the cemetery tomorrow?" I said, cringing.

Paul shifted slowly, sitting up but not waking up Nikki. "Do _you_ want to go tomorrow?"

"Not particularly, but I told you I would take you and tomorrow is our last real day before school starts." My eyes fell to my hands as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Rachel, I don't want you to go for me. I want you to go for you, honey. Don't let me or your sister tell you when you're ready to do this. When you're ready, I'll be there for you. Okay?" He kissed my forehead and pulled me closer to him. "I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable doing. I just want you to be happy, Rach."

Smiling, I looked up at him. "I've told you once, and I will tell you a hundred more times. I'm happier than I have ever been in my life."

Paul grinned. "Good, so am I."

"Well, if you're happy, then I'm happy," I kissed him again.

"You two are too mushy and kissy," Nikki stuck out her tongue in disgust.

I ruffled Nikki's hair before turning back to Paul. "I do think we should go tomorrow. I want to get it over with so my sister gets off my back and I don't have to continue to worry about it."

Paul nodded. "If that's what you want, then we will go tomorrow."

As soon as Paul confirmed our outing for tomorrow, my stomach started to knot up. I shook my head and focused on making spaghetti for dinner.

"Do you have to work tonight?" I asked Paul as he watched me fill up a pot of water to boil.

"Yeah, ten to four," he answered, frowning. "Are you sure you want to go tomorrow, Rach. Please don't feel like you have to do it now."

"Please, let's just get it over with. I don't want to have to worry about it when I'm in school."

"Okay, that's fine. I just hate when you're sad or anxious. It is physically painful for me," Paul said, crossing the room and wrapping his arms around me. "I'm feeling that pain right now, and I know you're freaking out. I know you can do this. You're strong and great and I love everything about you. When we go tomorrow, you will have me and Nikki there to support you and it will all be fine. I promise."

I nodded. "I know, it's just scary for me."

"I know, but just remember that we're here for you," He kissed my forehead lightly. "Your water is boiling, Rach."

"Oh! Thanks," I turned quickly and dumped in the noodles. I pulled out another pot and started to heat up the sauce.

"What's for dinner, Rachel?" Nikki asked, skipping into the room.

"Spaghetti and garlic bread." I answered, stirring my food, getting ready to put it on the table.

"Yum... and pepsi?" she wondered hopefully.

"And milk," I said chuckling.

"Fine," she frowned as I poured the milk into her glass.

Paul sat down across from me and dug into his food. "So I think tomorrow I will make breakfast and then we will head over to the cemetery. How's that sound?"

"Why are we going the cemetery?" Nikki asked with her mouth full of spaghetti.

"To visit Rachels mom," Paul said quietly.

"Oh, that will be fun," Nikki said, still chewing.

I sighed. "Chew then talk, Nick."

She swallowed her food. "Sorry."

Paul smiled softly at me. "Let's finish eating and spend the night relaxing, okay? Once school starts we will all be busy, and I think we need to have this last night to ourselves."

I nodded, agreeing. Tomorrow was not going to be fun.

---------

"I think I'm going to throw up," I said as Paul opened the door for me at the cemetery.

"Yeah, Paulie's pancakes were a little funky," Nikki said as she hopped to my side.

"Hey! My pancakes were fine."

I allowed myself a small grin before looking to see my last name etched into a large black stone in the distance. I had successfully put off visiting my moms grave for two weeks since Paul's proposal when Paul insisted we go today.

"Paulie, can I ride on your shoulders? I don't want to walk all over the dead bodies," Nikki said, reaching up to Paul.

My stomach lurched, we were going to walk all over my mom's rotted body. "I can't do this,"I whispered. "There's a reason why I haven't been here before. I cannot do this." I turned on my heel and took a half a step before Paul stopped me.

He wrapped his warm arms around my shoulders and held onto me tightly. "Yes, you can. We can do this together, okay. We talked about this. You are fine," he reassured before turning to his sister. "And you, kiddo, may want to keep your words to a minimum. Okay?"

"Sorry," Nikki grabbed my hand and led me towards my mom. "Look, Rach, there it is."

Paul draped his arm around my shoulder, leading me along with his sister to the place where my mom has been for the past few years.

When we reached the site, I stared at it for a few seconds. I watched Nikki trace the words. "Why is Billy's name on this? I saw him yesterday."

"When Mom died, Dad had his name put next to hers so that when he passed away, he would be able to be right next to her," I explained quietly. I ran my hand over my moms name, then over the date that she died. My mind flashed back to the funeral, to the day she died, to my dad crying at the kitchen table. "Okay, I came. Now let's go."

"Wait. Aren't you going to introduce us?" Paul insisted from beside me.

"What? Really?" I asked and he nodded at me. "Fine. Uh... hi Mom. This is Paul and Nikki. Paul is my fiance and Nikki is his little sister." They both waved and I frowned. "Paul, this is awkward. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. Can we leave now?" I stared at the ground to hide my eyes that were quickly filling with tears.

"Yeah, let's get out of here. You did great, Rach. Thank you for doing this for me and for yourself," Paul kissed the top of my head.

I followed Nikki into Paul's truck before slumping into the seat next to her, leaning my head on the window.

Nikki frowned as the pitter-patter of raindrops began to hit the top of the truck. "It is raining again. It's always raining." She sighed before resting her head on my arm. "Want to hear a joke, Rachel?"

I nodded my head and she sat up, smiling. "Okay, what did the finger say to the thumb?"

"What, Nick?" I asked, grinning down at her.

"I'm in _glove_ with you!" she giggled and I chuckled along with her. "I learned it on some Laffy Taffy."

"Well, that was a good one. Thank you, Nikki," I kissed her head softly and Paul smiled reassuringly at me.

"I don't want to go to school," Nikki whined as we turned into the apartment complex.

"Me either, Nick, but we gotta go," I said as I opened the door, preparing to make a break for the door to get through the pouring rain.

We ran through the rain and I unlocked the door, Nikki flying in before me. Paul tugged on me hand and pulled me back outside where we were covered by the roof.

"Hey, you did great. I'm so proud of you, Rach."

I scoffed. "I barely did anything. I froze up."

"But you went, and that means something. You faced your fears, and that's what I'm proud of." He leaned down and kissed me softly.

"Thank you for going with me," I whispered, our faces still touching.

The phone rang from inside and Nikki yelled that she got it.

"Of course, I would do anything for you, Rachel," Paul smiled. His smiled quickly turned into a frown as his face drained of color.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, my heart speeding up.

Paul pushed the door open. "Nikki, give me the phone."

"But Paulie, it's Mommy!"

**Cue me hiding behind my bathroom door.... Hi everyone, long time no see? Please don't hate me! I joined a sorority last semester and it has fully taken over my life. (in a good way) But I literally have no time to write between that and school, and that kills me. Writing is my creative outlet and I feel like I have been going crazy because I haven't gotten to get it out of me! **

**You reviews have been stellar and I just want to thank you all so so so so so much for still reading and being freaking amazing. **

**Anyways, I don't want to bore you with a long authors note, but enjoy the chapter. Hopefully, I will have time to get another one out within the next two weeks or so... ? Once summer starts I will hopefully be cranking out chapters like it's my job!**

**I love you all forever,**

**Mainly _"my readers are amazing" _Maddison  
**


	26. Chapter 26

I don't own anything

Chapter 26

"Nikki, give me the phone now," Paul held out his shaking hand, willing his sister to give him the telephone.

"No! Mommy wants to talk to me!" Nikki yelled at him as she jumped towards her room.

"Nicole Angela Brooks, you give me that phone right now or else," Paul's voice boomed over his little sister, who dropped the phone in fear. Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned and sprinted to her room, slamming the door behind her.

"Paul!" I scolded. "Calm down, you really scared her. You need to get ahold of yourself."

He closed his eyes as he grabbed the phone off the floor and stalked into the kitchen. I watched him walk away and quickly turned towards the hallway.

I knocked on Nikki's door softly. "Nick? Can I come in, sweetheart?"

"No," she said quietly, tears evident in her voice.

"Please, Nikki. I just want to talk, honey," I said soothingly through her door.

I heard her crawl off her bed and open the door slowly before running back to her bed, and covering herself with her blanket.

I walked over to her bed and sat on the edge next to the ball that was Nikki's body. "Is Paulie mad at me?"

"No, sweetheart, Paul isn't mad at you," I said reassuringly as I wrapped my arm around her body.

"He has never yelled at me before. He yelled at Mommy sometimes, but never at me," she said, poking her head out of the blanket and cuddled into my side.

I pulled myself closer to her. "I think Paulie is just scared, Nick. He is afraid he's going to lose you, and he loves you so much."

"Then why did he yell at me?" she asked quietly. "He was so scary."

I frowned, disappointed with Paul's behavior. He could have handled the situation much differently. "I know, Nick. Paul didn't need to yell at you. I'm sure he will apologize once he gets off the phone with your mom."

"Can I talk to Mommy?"

I sighed, not really knowing what to say. "We'll see, Nick. Once Paul gets off the phone with her, maybe he will get her number so that you can call her back."

"I miss my Mommy, Rachel. I wish I could see her sometimes." My heart pulled for her, knowing how she feels. The difference was, Nikki had the chance to talk to her mom, where I didn't.

"I will see what I can do," I whispered. "Every little girl needs her Mom."

"Can I still stay with you and Paulie though? I like living here."

"I like you living here too, Nikki. I will do the best I can to keep you here, okay?" I promised as I heard a crash come from the kitchen. "That didn't sound good. Mind if I go check on him?"

She nodded. "I will stay here, Paulie scares me."

I heard the door slam and a loud howl erupt from outside. "Okay, remember, Paulie loves you. I will be right back."

I walked into the kitchen and saw our telephone shattered on the floor. I opened the door and saw the ripped t -shirt and jeans laying on the ground, along with the shoes that were haphazardly thrown off in the yard, being soaked by the pouring rain.

"Oh, Paulie..." I whispered into the rainy night. I could almost feel his eyes on me so I smiled softly. "Calm down and come home soon." I ran outside and grabbed his torn clothes and quickly placed another pair of gym shorts out by the door. I also cleaned up the phone and threw it in the garbage.

I walked back down to Nikki's room and knocked on her door, poking my head in her room. She was still curled up under her covers, hiding from Paul. "Do you want some lunch?"

"Is Paul back?" she asked from under her blanket.

"Nope, he went for a walk," I answered simply. "Do you want me to make you a grilled cheese?"

She nodded her head. "Can I make a fort?"

"Sure, it's your last day of summer. Do whatever you want, Nick," I said, chuckling as I walked back down the hall.

When I walked back, Nikki had built a small makeshift fort. She placed a chair close to her bed and draped a blanket over the back and onto her bed.

I pushed her sandwich under the blanket. "There you go, Nick."

"Thank you," she whispered. "You can come in if you want."

I smiled and crawled into the little space. She had placed a few of her stuffed animals around the small area and was leaning up against the bed.

"This is a nice little space you've made for yourself," I complemented as I scooted next to her.

She leaned her head on my arm and took a bite out of her sandwich. "It's too small for Paul to come in. I did that on purpose."

I nodded, frowning. "You'll have to see him sooner or later, kiddo."

"Hopefully a lot later," she said, mouth full as usual.

"Nikki, if you don't chew with your mouth closed, I will tape it shut," I said laughing and covering her mouth playfully.

She giggled and swallowed. "Sorry."

"Ahem," the clearing of Paul's throat told us both that he was at the door.

Nikki dropped the sandwich on the plate. "I'm done. Can I be alone now?"

"Sure, sweetheart. You can keep the sandwich incase you get hungry okay?" She nodded but didn't continued to stare at the ground. "If you need anything, come get me."

I crawled out from under the blanket to see Paul looking at me with sad eyes. I bit my lip and signaled to go into the kitchen.

Once we got there, Paul sat down and I fell into the chair across from him.

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Paul said, looking in my eyes.

I shrugged. "I'm not the one you need to apologize to, Paul. You really scared her."

He sighed. "I know. I just didn't want my mom to put any bad thoughts into her head. I saw red when she said it was her and I lost my control. My mom said-"

"Paul, stop. I'm sorry, but right now I could care less about what your mom said to you. We need to fix what happened with your sister before we move onto that."

Paul's shoulders fell, seeing that I was disappointed in him. "I know. I should go talk to her."

I smiled at him. "Good luck, you're not going to fit into that little tent she made for herself."

Paul smiled back at me. "I just hope she lets me in her room."

"She will, she loves you. Just be your normal, cute self and she will come along."

Paul nodded and stood up. "When we get back, I want to talk about what my mother had to say," he said grimly.

"That bad?" I asked, cringing interally.

"It's not good, that's for sure," he added before walking into the hallway.

"Let me know if you need help," I called after him.

I heard him knock on the door, just to be denied entry.

"Nikki, please let me in. I promise I will be nice," Paul pleaded through the door. I knew he could just open it, but he wanted Nikki to want to be a part of their conversation too.

"No, please!" I heard her yelp through the door.

Paul walked down the hallway and into the kitchen with his shoulders slumped. "I think I need help."

I smiled and nodded. Taking Pauls hand I walked down the hall and lightly knocked on Nikkis door.

"Go away!" she shouted from in the room.

"Nikki, that wasn't very nice. Paulie just wanted to talk to you. Can we come in?" I asked quietly through the door.

"Fine," she grumbled.

Paul kissed my cheek. "Thank you," he whispered as we walked into the room together.

Paul sat on the bed, waiting for Nikki to come out of her fort. "Nick? Want to join us?"

I heard her sigh and watched as she crawled out from under the blanket. She walked over to me and grabbed my hand, standing next to me and not looking at Paul.

"Do you want to sit on the bed, Nikki?" I asked, kneeling down next to her.

She shook her head, still not moving her eyes from the ground.

I looked up at Paul and saw all the sadness in his eyes. "How about we go out to the living room and you and I can sit on the couch and Paulie will sit on the chair?" She nodded and turned, walking out into the living room.

Paul got up behind us and followed us out, sitting on the chair across from the couch.

My brain went back to the mediating class I took in college so I cleared my throat. "Okay, how about this. One person talks and says everything they want to say with no interruptions and when they are done, the other person can talk about how the feel. You have to listen to what everyone is saying. And no fighting and no yelling. Deal?"

I thought I saw Paul smile slightly before he nodded. Nikki nodded too but didn't look either of us in the eye.

"Who wants to go first?" I asked quietly.

After a few seconds of silence, Paul spoke up. "I will. Nikki, there is no one in this entire universe that I love more than you and Rachel. When Mom called today, you were the first person that crossed my mind. Remember when Mom used to be dru- sick all the time? And she would be mean and hurt you?" Nikki nodded, biting her lip. "Whenever that happened, it would kill me knowing I wasn't there to protect you. And now that Mom is gone, I haven't had to worry about you getting hurt or scared-"

"You scared me today," she snipped, causing Paul's eyes to drop to the ground in shame. His hands were shaking slightly, causing him to clench them into tight fists.

"Hey," I ran my hands through her hair. "No interruptions, remember? Let Paul finish."

"I know I scared you, sweetheart. And I am going to try my hardest to make sure I never, ever scare you again. I just want you to be happy and I'm scared that if Mom takes you away from us, you won't be as happy as I know you are with Rachel and I."

"Okay, Nick. What do you have to say to that?" I turned to the little girl who was curled into my side.

"I don't want Mommy to take me away from you and Rachel. I don't like when she is sick. But I don't like when you are mean, Paulie. I just wanted to talk to my Mommy. I haven't talked to her in a long, long time and I miss her, even if she is scary sometimes."

"Well, I got the number to the place where they are staying. Maybe tomorrow when I get us a new phone we can call her together. But I want to be there to supervise the whole thing, Nick. I don't want her to freak out over the phone and scare you again," Paul reasoned.

Nikki nodded. "Okay. Can I go back to my room now?"

Paul frowned. "Can I get a hug first?" His sister nodded again and walked over to Paul, hugging him lightly. Paul smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Nikki. You're the best sister in the whole world."

Nikki sighed. "I love you too, Paulie." She hopped off his lap and walked back towards her room, shutting the door lightly.

"She's still mad at me," Paul said, rubbing his eyes with his shaking hands.

I shrugged. "You just scared her, she will come around. Now, what did your mom say on the phone that made you feel the need to shatter it against the floor. I liked that phone, it got me all the way through college."

Paul groaned. "She's awful." He moved over to the couch and pulled me onto his lap, resting his head on my shoulder. His hands immediately stopped shaking and his body relaxed. "She was drunk... And I think my dad was too. He was, I don't know, giggling? Yeah, giggling in the background."

I frowned. "Did your dad ever drink before?"

Paul nodded. "Yeah, but never like she did. I feel like without us here to stop him, she is dragging him down with her."

"I'm sorry, honey. What did she say?" I asked, running my hands through his hair.

"Well, first she was pissed that I took the phone away from Nick. She said she wanted to talk to her favorite child and that I was and asshole. Which is fine, I don't really care what she thinks about me. It was when she started talking about you that freaked me out."

"What did she say about me?" I asked frowning. "I thought she liked me."

Paul chuckled. "I'm sure she does like you. Just not when she's plastered. She never was a happy drunk."

"What did she say?"

"Well, I told her Nikki was happy and to not bother us. Then she blew up. Saying you were brainwashing us into hating her. And that you were..." his hands started shaking again.

"Paul, calm down. Nothing she said is going to change anything about anything, okay?" I reassured him, rubbing his strong, warm arms.

"She said you were a homewrecking whore who was just interested in my body or some bullshit like that. I can't remember really, that was when I smashed the phone."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, she's right about one thing. I do love that body of yours. Other than that, you know how I feel about you. I love you more than anything in this world. You're everything to me, Paul. What your mom said means nothing."

Paul smiled. "I know, but when someone even looks at you the wrong way I get all sorts of pissed off. I can't handle it, I'm going to be an overprotective guy for the rest of our relationship."

"I know, I kind of like it." I said, kissing his neck softly.

Paul moaned. "Bedroom?"

"Nope, not while Nikki's awake. I don't want to scar her for life."

"Ugh, I suppose you're right."

"But, she is going to bed early tonight. She has school early in the morning."

Paul grinned. "Thank god for that."

**Powers out! So I'm writing on my handy dandy macbook! Sorry this is so late coming out! It's summer now so hopefully I can write more? Don't hold me to that... I'm an awful ffwriter... **

**I'm back from State College, and missing it already :( womp womp. Hopefully it make me write more!**

**You guys are literally the greatest readers and I love you!!**

**Keep reading and enjoying the story!**

**LOVE YOU ALL**

**Mainly Maddison.**


	27. Chapter 27

I don't own anything

Chapter 27

"Nikki, we are leaving in ten minutes!" I shouted down the hall as I took another sip from my coffee. I straightened my pencil skirt and picked some fuzz off of my jacket. I wanted to look good on my first day.

Paul stumbled into the kitchen and stretched his arms over his head. His shirtless body making me drool. He grinned when he noticed me staring and pulled me into his arms. "Like what you see?"

"Don't tempt me," I said, kissing his cheek before pulling away from him. "I don't want to be late on the first day of school." I craned my head down the hall. "Nikki, kitchen! Now, please!"

"I'll go check on her," Paul said, turning down towards her room. He was still trying to suck up to her after his outburst yesterday.

I was about to take another sip of my coffee when I heard Paul comforting his sister. My leaned my head towards the room to eavesdrop on them.

"What's wrong, Nick? You never had a problem with school before," Paul said from inside the room. I heard her bed groan from Paul's huge body sitting on it.

I heard a sniffle and my heart broke for her. "Before I didn't like to be at home though, Paulie. Now I don't want to leave."

Before I got to listen in on any more of the conversation, my cell phone buzzed on the table in front of me. "Hello?" I answered, already knowing who it was.

"I am so fat. Rachel, I can't even see my feet. This is so gross," my sister bellowed into the phone. "Embry, don't even try to disagree with me," she snapped.

I chuckled. "Good morning, Rebecca. Tell Embry I said hi."

"She says hi," Rebecca grumbled. "I wanted to call you before your first day to wish you good luck."

"Is that so? I thought you just wanted to let me know how big you were getting."

"See! Even Rachel says I'm fat," I could almost hear Becca sticking her tongue out at Embry.

"You're pregnant, Becks. You're supposed to gain you have you're beautiful baby girls in your arms, it will all be worth it. Besides, knowing you, you're body will spring back to normal in no time. You were a workout freak before you moved away," I attempted to soothe her.

Paul and Nikki walked into the room, Paul frowning lightly.

"Hey, Rebecca. I've gotta go. I will see you later okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for talking to me and good luck, Rach. Love you," she said quietly. "Can we get together sometime this week? I miss you and I feel like I never see you anymore."

"Sure, Becks. We will have a girls night sometime this week. Nikki is dying to see you," I smiled at Nikki who held her arms up for Paul to hold her. He gladly did so, holding her tightly to his side.

"Okay good. Tell her I miss her and to have a great first day."

"Will do, bye," I said, hanging up the phone. "You are looking lovely today, Nikki," smiling at her outfit that we picked out together last night. Capris and a t-shirt, you can't go wrong. "Are you ready to head out?"

She shrugged. "I guess so."

"It will be fine, honey. I am willing to bet that once you get there with your friends, you will forget all about being nervous. And if you need anything, I will be two classrooms down the hall," I reassured as Paul placed her on the ground.

"Go grab your bookbag, Rach will meet you outside," Paul said, kissing her forehead. "You'll be great, Nick. You'll see."

She nodded before slowly turning to grab her bag and walk outside.

"Everything okay?" I asked, intertwining my fingers with his.

Paul nodded. "Yeah. She just finally found a place where she feels safe outside of school and now she feels like she's being taken away from us." Paul pulled me closer to him and took a deep breath. "I told her that you were close and that if she needed me I was a phone call away."

"Good. She will be fine," I said quietly. "And we will be home at around four, okay?"

He nodded. "I will miss you," he whispered.

I smiled at him. "I'll miss you too. What are you going to do today?"

"I'm going to go over to your dads, I think. He mentioned his sink was acting up so I'm going to look at it."

"Where has Jacob been?" I asked. Jake should be the one helping my dad with this kind of stuff, not Paul.

Paul shrugged. "I'm not sure, probably with the Cullen's."

"Hm... well good luck with that then. Thanks for helping him out."

"No problem." He smiled at me. "You should probably get going though."

I sighed. "You're right. I will see you tonight."

"Love you, Rachel," he said, kissing me softly.

"Love you too, Paul." I pecked him one more time before heading out the door. Nikki was sitting on the steps, throwing rocks into the parking lot.

"Let's get going, girlie," I said, offering my hand for Nikki. She placed her hand in mine and walked with me to the car, hopping in the back seat.

"Are you excited to see your friends?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

Nikki shrugged, not saying anything.

"Well, are you excited to have pizza for lunch?" I asked, knowing that was her favorite school lunch.

She shrugged again, not verbalizing her thoughts.

"What's wrong, Nikki? Paulie told you I would be right there if you need me. Everything will be great." I said, trying to make her feel better.

"I know. I just wish I could hang out with you and Paulie and Becca and her babies and Embry and everyone else instead of going to stupid school," she huffed.

"You will still have time to hang out with all of us, I promise. Rebecca was even asking for a girls night soon. Would you like that?" I looked in my review mirror at her and saw her nodding. "Good, I will call her today and let her know."

"When are her babies coming?"

"She is due in December. But it might be a little before or after then," I said.

"Is Embry their daddy?" she asked, staring out the window.

"I... You're going to have to ask Rebecca about that one, kiddo," I half-answered as I turned into the parking lot.

Nikki hopped out of the car and walked next to me as we entered the building.

"Alright, Nick. Do you know where your classroom is?" She nodded. "Good. And you know that I am right down the hall if you need anything at all, okay." She nodded again. "Okay, sounds good, kiddo. I will see you in my room at three-thirty to go home."

"Bye, Rachel- er Miss Black," Nikki said, giving me a half hug before sulking to her class.

I went through the day, only seeing Nikki at lunch. She was laughing with all her little friends, clearly forgetting about wanting to stay home. I smiled and watched her for a few minutes.

"Rachel?" I jumped up and turned around, smiling at the woman next to me. "Hi, I'm Ashley Meadows. I thought I would introduce myself. Would you want to join all of us in the teachers lounge for lunch?"

I looked back at Nikki one more time before nodding my head. "Yeah! That sounds great."

"Do you know Nikki Brooks?" Ashley asked, looking in Nikki's direction.

Smiling, I held up my hand to show her my engagement ring. "I'm her brothers fiancee," I explained. "She was nervous to come to school today, and I am just making sure she's alright."

"Fiancee? Isn't he a little young? I thought he just graduated. How long have you two been seeing each other?"

I frowned slightly. "Only four months, but when you find the one, time doesn't matter right?"

Ashley shrugged. "I guess you're right."

She decided to drop the topic and led me down the short hall towards the teachers lounge. The other teachers weren't as forward as Mrs. Meadows. They mostly asked how I was liking the school and how my dad was doing.

After lunch, I went back to my class and spent some time getting to know my students a little better. I also passed out the papers they needed to take home for their guardians to fill out. I looked over the forms. There was a lot of information that I didn't know if Paul had for Nikki. Hopefully he still had his moms number so that he could figure it all out.

Once three-thirty rolled came around, Nikki skipped into my room, looking ten times happier than before school.

"Hey, girlie. I take it you had fun today?" I asked as I straightened up my desk, getting ready to leave.

"Yep. I like school again," she answered, smiling up at me.

"Well, I am glad. Now what do we want for dinner?" I pulled my jacket on and turned off the lights in the room, holding the door open for Nikki.

"Can we have spaghetti?"

I locked the door and nodded. "That sounds great."

"I wonder if Paul missed us today," she hopped into the car and pulled on her seat belt.

"I bet he did. I know he was going over to my dad's to help him out for a bit, but I don't think that would take long. I bet he has been bored out of his mind," I said, turning the car down the road towards the apartment.

"Rachel?" Nikki asked in a small voice, making me look in the rear view mirror at her.

"Yeah, Nick?" Her eyes looked sort of scared, as if she didn't know whether or not she should ask me the question she had.

"Do you think that, maybe, we could try to call my mom and dad tonight?"

"Well, how about we talk to Paul about it when we get home. We are going to have to call them sometime because I need to fill out those information cards for school." She nodded and looked out the window. "I'll do my best, Nikki. I think that if you want to talk to your parents and they are feeling well enough to talk to you, you should be allowed."

"Thank you," she said, giving me a small smile. I gave her a little grin as I went to open the apartment door, but it swung open before I had the chance.

"Finally! I thought you were going to stay at school forever!" Paul exclaimed as he pulled us into his warm arms. He kissed both of our cheeks sloppily as he squeezed us in his embrace.

"I knew you would miss us," Nikki giggled as Paul threw her over his shoulder.

"Of course I missed you. It's boring here without you guys," he kissed my cheek before he put Nikki back on the ground. "How was it?"

"Great! I saw all my friends! Cara wants to have me sleep over soon. Can I?" Nikki skipped towards her room, looking back for an answer.

"We'll see," I said as I fell onto the couch, kicking off the heels I stupidly decided to wear to work. Nikki ran off into her room, probably to change out of her clothes from the day.

"How was school for you, Rach?" Paul asked as he pulled me into his side.

"Great," I smiled. "My kids were awesome, the other teachers were nice. Well, most of them. One of them was sort of rude to me, it was weird."

Paul frowned. "What did they do?"

"She just gave me crap for being engaged to you. She knew you were young and that I was newly back in town, I guess. It was strange. But other than that, my day was good. I'm glad to be home though. I missed you a lot," I said, breathing his scent in deeply.

"I'm glad you're home too. I got really lonely in the last few hours," he kissed my forehead and pulled me onto his lap.

I chuckled. "Maybe we should get a dog. To keep you company, ya know?"

Paul smiled. "Dogs hate me. They are intimidated by me."

I snorted. "Right, you're so scary."

"Hey, I was scary before you came along and made me all soft. Not that I mind, I quite enjoy it actually," he admitted.

I smiled up at him and leaned in to kiss him. "Oh, I almost forgot. We are going to have to call your parents."

"Why?" Paul asked defensively.

"Nothing major, don't worry. We just need to get all of Nikki's medical information. And she wants to talk to them. She misses then and I think if they are well enough to talk to her for a few minutes, we should let her. I don't think they are going to take her away from us, Paul. You're dad knows you're great with her and I just feel that she should have the chance to know them while she can."

"I guess. It just makes me incredibly nervous," Paul muttered, his eyes falling to the ground.

"It's all going to be fine. Nikki's dying to talk to your parents, Paul. I don't think it's fair to her to take that away from her."

Paul nodded, but he was still frowning. "I know. You're right, I just don't like it." He sighed before looking back at me. "Have you gotten a chance to call your friend?"

I had a friend in college who was going on to law school. Hopefully, he could help answer some questions Paul and I had about that adoption process.

"I called him today during my prep but he didn't answer. I left a message so hopefully he will get back to me." I stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go change, these clothes are not very comfortable."

"Don't ever change," Paul joked, grinning at me.

"You're so lame." I leaned over the couch and kissed him again before turning to go to our room.

"I kind of like your teacher clothes. You look really hot in them," Paul shouted from the couch.

I grinned as I changed into a tank top and some short shorts. Walking back into the living room, Paul's eyes went wide.

"But then again, I can't resist those shorts. I think you use them against me," Paul said, pulling me over the back of the couch and back onto his lap.

I laughed as I kissed him softly. "Whatever are you talking about?"

He chuckled deeply. "I missed you too much today."

I heard Nikki running towards the living room, so I kissed Paul chastely before looking towards the hall.

"Can we call my mom now?"

**So... it's a little sooner than usual. but later than I wanted, and for that I'm sorry! I got my wisdom teeth out and that put me down for like a week... but no excuse is a good excuse. **

**I hope you are all enjoying summer... or whatever season you are in, I hope you're all enjoying life! haha**

**Read and review, you're all great**

**OH! I got my first flame, EVER! It was kind of fun, but I didn't take it to heart because for that one person who dislikes this story I have about 50 that love it! And I love all of you, even that person who flamed me. haha**

**LOVE YOU ALL! **

**Mainly Maddi :)  
**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

I don't own anything

"Can we try again, Rachel?" Nikki begged as she clutched the phone in her little hands. We had been trying to call Pauls parents since the first day of school. That was two weeks ago, we were beginning to think she had given us a fake number.

I looked over at her as she bounced onto my bed. I had been sick with the flu for the past few days and Paul made me promise to stay in bed until I felt better. Feeling like crap, I wasn't about to break that promise. I hoped this weekend would allow me time to get over this virus.

"Go ask Paul, sweetie. We can have it on speakerphone in here if you want," I offered.

She sprinted out of the room screaming Pauls name, causing me to grin.

Paul came in with Nikki on his back. He set her on the bed gently before climbing in next to me. Nikki and I cuddled into his sides.

"Don't get your hopes up, okay Nick?" Paul said sadly as he punched the numbers into the cordless phone.

The phone rang about ten times before a their mothers voice came over the speaker. "What?" she asked gruffly.

Paul went to move the phone away from Nikki but she snatched it out of his hands. "Mommy?" she asked, holding the phone up to her ear even though it was still on speaker.

"Who is this?" she asked, before a hacking cough came over the phone.

"It's me, Mommy. It's Nikki." Nikki said frowning.

"Nikki who?" her mom ask.

"It's your baby, Mommy. Nikki, remember?" Nick yelled into the phone, tears starting to fall from her eyes. My stomach dropped as Paul lept up and stole the phone out of Nikki's hands and stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

"Come here, honey," I said, pulling Nikki's slumped body into mine. I pushed the hair out of her blood-shot eyes and kissed her on the forehead. "It will be okay."

"Why doesn't she remember me, Rachel?" Nikki asked, sobbing into my t-shirt.

"She remembers you, baby girl. We probably just caught her off guard. She wasn't expecting us to call," I explained, internally praying that was what actually happened.

"Does she still love me?" Nikki asked, her voice thick and eyes still watery.

My heart broke for her. "Of course she still loves you. You're the best. How could anyone not love you?"

I wiped the tears off of her cheeks, kissing them lightly. "I bet she just didn't recognize your voice, Nick. You've grown up a lot since you moved in here."

Paul opened the door quietly with a determined look in his eye. "Nick, go pack a bag of clothes. We're going on a road trip."

Nikki and I both frowned. "Why?" I asked.

Paul cleared his throat and looked at us, his eyes landing on his sister. "Nikki, honey, go pack some clothes, please."

Nikki crawled off the bed and walked down the hall towards her room.

I sat up and looked at Paul. "What the hell is going on?"

Paul pulled the suitcase out of our closet and started throwing enough clothes for an overnight trip for both of us.

I got up quickly but had to sit down after a wave of dizziness hit me. Paul looked up and his face dropped. "You're sick." He dropped to his knees in front of me. "You're sick and I forgot. I'm the worst."

"Paul, what is going on? Where are we going?" I asked running my hands through his hair.

"No where. You're sick. I forgot. How could I forget?" He asked himself quietly.

"Forget that for one second, okay? Why are you having Nikki pack a bag?"

He got up and sat on the edge of the bed next to me. "I can't stand to hear my mom hurt Nikki like that. I can't handle thinking that at any moment she could come and just take her away. And right now, she's willing to sign the papers to transfer guardianship to us. If we get to Oregon, where they are right now, and have them sign Nikki over to us... I just don't want to see Nikki get hurt anymore."

I nodded and got out of bed slowly this time. I started pulling out the rest of our clothes and putting them into the suitcase.

"Wait. You're sick, we shouldn't go. We can wait," Paul said, getting up behind me.

"No, we should do it now, Paul. You're right. I hate seeing her get hurt over this. And if there's something we can do to protect her from it, I want to do it. Plus if we do it this weekend, neither of us will have to miss school."

"Not while you're sick," Paul said, pulling the clothes out of the suitcase.

"Paul. Stop it. We are going. Nikki isn't just your family anymore. She's mine too. I love her with all my heart and I need for her to be happy. I will be fine sitting in a car, okay? It's not like we are going to be doing anything crazy. Besides, if we go now maybe Nikki can see your mom for a little while. With our supervision."

Paul looked in my eyes. "Are you sure?"

I smiled weakly at him. "I'm positive."

"You really are the best, Rachel. I'm so lucky," he said, trailing off. "So lucky."

"I'm lucky too, Paul. Now go see if Nikki's ready, okay?" Paul nodded and kissed me on the forehead before walking out of the room.

I placed some more clothes in the luggage before a shiver rippled though my body. I pulled out a hooded sweatshirt and threw it on over some sweatpants before zipping up the suitcase.

"Ready?" Paul asked as he lifted the suitcase off the bed. He looked at me frowning. "Rach, are you sure this is okay? It's a long ride in the truck and you look like you need some sleep."

"I will sit in the middle and sleep. It's fine. We need to take care of this."

"But-" Paul started but I walked passed him and towards the door.

"Come on, Nikki. You have shotgun for this trip," I called down the hall.

She sprinted towards the door and hopped into the truck. "This is so cool! I've never sat in this seat with all three of us in the car! Where are we going again, Paulie?"

Paul walked next to me, rubbing my back lightly as he guided me to the car. "We are going to Oregon to see Mom."

Nikki's eyes just about popped out of her head. "Really! Do you think she will remember me this time."

Paul muttered something that sounded like "she better" before helping my weak body into the truck.

"I brought my Harry Potter book to start to read, Rachel," she said, showing me her book. "I might need help with some of the words though."

"Nikki, we need to try to be quiet so that Rachel can sleep. She's not feeling well, remember?" Paul reminded his sister as he started the car.

"Okay," Nikki whispered as she buckled her seat belt.

I grinned as I buckled my belt and leaned my head on Paul's arm. Nikki mimicked me by leaning on my arm and opening her book.

"How far away is this place, Paul?" I asked quietly.

He pulled the Map Quest directions off of the dashboard and showed me. I inwardly groaned. Nine hours in this truck.

"Sorry, babe," Paul said, kissing my hair. "We can tur-"

"Keep driving, big guy," I said, closing my eyes.

Paul chuckled. "Okay, Rach."

"At least you got a good nights sleep last night." I opened my eyes and sat up quickly, groaning at my dizzy spells, before closing my eyes and leaning back into Paul.

"What was that all about?" Paul asked, sounding worried.

"Don't you have to work tonight?"

"Yeah, but I called Embry and he is taking care of it for me. I'm covered for the weekend. I told him if he did this for me now, I would help him out once Becks has her babies," Paul explained.

"Well that was nice of the two of you," I said, yawning.

"Go to sleep, Rachel," Paul lifted his arm around me, placing my head on his broad chest. "I'll wake you up if we stop, okay?"

I nodded and quickly fell asleep.

The sleeping lasted a good three hours before I felt a tapping on my elbow. "What's up, Nick?"

"I have two questions," she whispered to me.

"What's the first one?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and sitting up.

"What does V-o-l-d-e-m-o-r-t spell?" she asked spelling out the word.

"Voldemort, Nick. He's the bad guy," I explained.

"Shh! Don't tell me!" she shushed as she buried her nose back in her book.

I chucked and turned to Paul who was starring at the road. "How's it going, honey?" I asked, kissing his cheek softly.

He shoulders relaxed at my gesture and he granted me a small smile. "I'm nervous to see her. I told her we were coming, I just hope she is feeling well tomorrow when we see her."

"Well, we are going to have to go to a notary. So even if she is drunk when we find her that morning, we will make her go out to eat with us to sober her up and then we will go and do it and get it done. All in the public eye, so she won't do anything too crazy," I said, silently hoping she wouldn't be too bad tomorrow.

"Let's hope so," Paul said quietly, his eyes trained back on the highway.

"Are we there yet, Paulie?" Nikki whined. "I'm hungry."

Paul laughed lightly. "We've still got a long ways, Nick. But we can stop for food and to stretch our legs, how about that?"

"McDonalds!" Nick yelped.

I grinned. "If we're stopping at McDonalds, you're getting apples with your happy meal. Got it?"

Nikki frowned. "Can I have some of your fries if I eat all my apples?" she asked innocently.

"Sure, Nick. That sounds like a good deal," I smiled down at her.

We turned into McDonalds and ordered our food, Paul ordering enough to feed a small army. Nikki ended up eating all of her apples and I upheld my end of the bargain by giving her some of my fries.

"How much longer until we get there, Paulie?" Nikki asked as she munched on my fries.

"A while," Paul said vaguely as he inhaled his second Big Mac. "Feeling okay, Rach?"

I looked up from my food to Paul and shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to worry him. "I'm not hungry."

Paul frowned. "You haven't eaten all day."

"I just don't have much of an appetite today," I said, pushing my food towards him. "Will you eat this, it is grossing me out."

"You love chicken nuggets, Rachel!" Nikki said loudly. "Are you sure you don't want them?"

"Yeah, Rach. Are you sure?" Paul asked, touching my cheek lightly.

I nodded and pulled away. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm fine. Just going to the bathroom, no need to worry," I said, mostly to Paul, as he looked at me with his big, brown, concerned eyes.

Once I got to the surprisingly clean bathroom, I splashed my face with some water. Taking a few deep breaths I walked back into the restaurant and sat back down.

Paul had finished his and my food and he was throwing away the wrappers. Nikki was in the play place, exploring the large tubes. "Want me to refill your water for the ride?" he asked, sitting down next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders as he looked down at me.

I nodded. "Thanks, Paul." Paul smiled and took our cups to get filled. I heard him call for Nikki as he passed by the door of the indoor playground.

"Ready?" he asked as he helped me from my seat.

"I'm ready whenever you are," I said, grabbing his hand and Nikki's as we walked back towards the truck.

"How much longer until we see Mommy?"

"We will see her tomorrow, hopefully," Paul said as he buckled his seat belt.

"I can't wait," Nikki said excitedly.

"Yeah, me either, Nick," Paul said. "I can't wait for this to be over," he added quietly as we pulled out of the fast food parking lot.

I couldn't wait for it to be over either.

**Hi everyone! Sorry... I don't really have an excuse for how late this is, but here it is! I've been doing more reading of fanfiction than writing so, I'm really sorry.  
**

**Read and review if you want. **

**I really do love you guys :/**

**Mainly Maddi  
**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

I don't own anything

"How do I look, Rach?" Nikki asked as she twirled around the small hotel room, dancing to whatever Disney teeny bopper was singing on the television screen.

I looked over the heavy blanket and gave her a small smile. She had a purple sun dress on with a white sweater to keep her warm. "You look beautiful, sweetheart," I choked out before my hacking cough came back over me. Paul sighed deeply as he patted my back. "I'm fine, Paul," I said, looking into his worried eyes.

"You are not fine," Paul said sternly, pulling on his hair in frustration. "This was a bad idea. You should be home trying to get healthy, not traveling."

I closed my eyes and cuddled into his bare chest. "We gotta do what we gotta do. This is important, I can get better once this is all over."

"Maybe you should stay here while we sign the papers," Paul suggested quietly.

I coughed out a laugh. "And leave you and Nikki alone with your parents? I don't think so. Who is going to calm you guys down if things don't go smoothly? Plus in order for me to be a legal guardian, I have to sign the papers too." I looked up at his brown eyes. "Unless you don't want me to go," I added lowly.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I want you to go, Rach. I just can't stand watching you suffer, it breaks my heart. I need for you to get better," he said, his voice straining. My sickness was obviously taking a toll on him.

"And I will, once this is all behind us," I promised him, shutting my eyes again.

"We need to get dressed, Rachel," Paul said, kissing my cheek lightly.

I nodded and leaned up, the dizziness hitting me again. Paul frowned and helped me to my feet and towards the bathroom. He placed my clothes on the sink and turned to me. "I think I can handle it from here, Paulie," I said quietly, reaching up to kiss his cheek lightly.

He nodded and wrapped his arms around me. Paul took a deep breath before pulling back and looking down at me strangely. "You smell different. Are you wearing perfume or something?" He asked me before smelling me again.

"No, I just haven't showered in days. That's why I smell. Now I'm embarrassed that it's that noticeable," I wrinkled my nose and pushed away.

Paul pulled me closer, taking another deep breath. "No, it's not that. You smell great, Rach."

"You're very biased," I reasoned with him. "Now I really need to take a shower, or we will be late," I said before pushing away again.

This time he loosened his arms. "Okay, well let me know if you need any help in there," he winked at me before turning out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

I chuckled before moving to look in the mirror. "Ew," I whispered to myself. I hadn't washed my face in days, let alone put on make-up. In the shower, I scrubbed my face and washed all the germs off of my body. I felt ten times better as I stepped out of the tub and dried myself off.

Paul and Nikki were sitting on the bed watching cartoons when I walked out of the bathroom. Paul had changed into a t-shirt and jeans. He looked at me and smiled as I walked towards them.

"Are we ready?" I asked, pulling on my jacket.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Nikki yelped, hopping out of the bed.

"Put your coat and shoes on, okay Nick?" Paul said as he got out of the bed and walked over to me. "How was your shower?"

"Lonely," I cheeked, kissing him softly. "But it was good. I feel a lot better, actually."

He smiled down at me. "Good, now let's get this over with."

I nodded and opened the door. "Where are we meeting them?"

"Denny's. We're going to eat and then head over to the notary to sign the papers. Then I will submit them to child services when we get home," Paul explained.

"Sounds like a plan," I said, taking his hand.

He gave me a forced smile before helping me into the large truck. Nikki hopped in and sat in the middle, leaning on Paul as he started the car.

As we pulled into the Denny's parking lot, my stomach started to flip inside of me. Paul guided me out of the car, but stopped when I tripped over myself.

"Rachel, I'm really starting to worry about you," he said as he held my arms to steady me.

"You always worry, I'm really fine. Just clumsy," I reasoned with him, hoping to hide the fact that I really wasn't feeling well at all.

"You're the most graceful person I know, " he said frowning. Paul let out an uneasy sigh before nodding and continuing towards the restaurant. I managed to get into the diner and to fall into a booth before the nausea hit me again. Paul slid in next to me, with Nikki hopping up next to him. I rested my head on his shoulder to try to steady myself.

Five minutes later, a loud shriek brought me out of my trance. My head snapped up to see Nikki sprinting towards her parents who had just walked in the door.

From the looks of it, they were both sober and happy to see their daughter that they had abandoned months earlier.

I scooted over to greet them but Paul didn't budge. He didn't even look at his parents until the sat down across from us, Nikki in between them.

I smiled at them as they settled into their seats. "Good morning," I said smiling, putting on my teacher face.

Pauls father looked up and gave us a small grin. "Good morning to you too, and thank you for coming out here."

"Oh it's no problem Daddy! Paulie was a little nervous though because Rachel is very sick, right Rachel?" Nikki rambled on, still smiling from ear to ear.

Pauls mom decided it was time to put her two cents in. "What'd you do? Knock her up?" She said as she coughed loudly.

My heart stopped for a split second before beating into hyper speed. Knocked up? Could I be pregnant? Glancing at Paul, I saw his mind was also running a mile a minute. I shook my head and threw that thought into the back of my mind. "No," I said, trying to laugh the comment off. "It's just the flu."

"You sure? I see that pretty ring on your finger. We got engaged about a week after we found out that Paul was coming," she said, peering over at my ring finger.

It seemed as Paul regained his composure. "We are just engaged Mom. Because we love each other, no other reason."

She was about to open her mouth to say something else when the waiter came and took our order, breaking up the awkward conversation.

The waiter placed the sausage and toast in front of me and my stomach lurched. Fantastic, I thought to myself. I pushed the meat away and spread butter lightly over the toast. I could manage the toast. Feeling eyes on me I looked up. Paul's mom was staring at me while I was disecting my food. Again, fantastic. She gave me a knowning look before starting on her own food.

"So how does this work? We sign the papers and that's it?" Paul's mother asked while sipping on her coffee.

I inwardly frowned. The fact that she is so easily giving up her daughter is still shocking to me. "Yes, it will give us legal guardianship."

"Well, good because I don't foresee us going back there," she huffed as our waiter returned with our food.

Paul stared at his parents from across the table. "Ever? What about the house? What about..." His eyes fell to his sister, who was obviously coloring on her menu.

It was his dad who surprisingly spoke up. "I've got a better job here. Besides Nicole, there's nothing keeping us in La Push and we don't want to uproot her from her home."

I felt a stab in my heart when he left Paul out of his reasoning. Looking over at Paul, I see him pushing his eggs around the plate, his eyes lowered and his breathing slow. I reach over and pat his leg reassuringly. He looks up and offers me a small smile.

We ate in silence for a few minutes before Mrs. Brooks sighs loudly. "Alright, so let's get this over with, shall we?" Paul's mom said, pushing her plate back from her.

I felt myself frowning again. "Are you sure? We can hang out for a bit if you want. I mean, you're probably not going to see your daughter for a long time," I said as I pushed my half eaten toast aside.

"Yeah, Mom, Rachel and I both have jobs too. We won't be able to come back for a while," Paul agreed with me.

"Well, it's one and your father has to work at five. I don't know how long these things take but he can't be late to work," she said, as she slid out of the booth.

Paul frowned, but followed her out, throwing some cash on the table for the bill. Nikki hopped out and grabbed her moms hand, which her mom willingly took. I sighed, wondering again how a mother could just sign her only daughter away.

I felt Pauls warm hand on my shoulder and I automatically leaned into him, taking a deep breath. "It's almost over, Paulie," I whispered, knowing he would be able to hear me.

I stepped away, immediately tripping over myself.

"Rach, are you sure you're okay? Do you think..." He glanced up at his parents and sister, who were waiting by the door, getting candy out of the machines. "Could my mom be right? About you being sick? I mean, you smell different. I can't explain it, but you do."

I looked up at his intense eyes and shrugged. "I mean, in theory, she could be. But I think we need to deal with one life changing thing at once, yeah?"

Paul nodded. "Yeah, you're right. You always are," he pulled my into his arms again. "But for the record, I would be absolutely psyched if you were."

I smiled to myself. "Good to know," I whispered, again, knowing he would hear it. "Would you really be able to smell it?" I asked, glancing up at him again.

Paul shrugged. "I mean, I know your unique smell like the back of my hand and something had to change in order for me to notice a difference."

I nodded. "We will look into it when we get home, okay?" Paul nodded, the smile on his face growing even larger.

We walked towards his family, and his mom looked up at us. "You kids change your mind?" she asked, popping a lime runt candy into her mouth.

Pauls eyes narrowed at his mothers comment. "No way," he said confidently.

Nikki jumped off her dads lap and held her hand open. "Would you like an banana runt, Rachel? I know they are your favorite."

"Thank you, Nick. I love these things," I said as she dropped them in my hand.

"Are we going home soon, Paulie?" Nikki asked her brother as he took her hand.

"You betcha, Nikki," he kissed her cheek as we walked out the door.

* * *

_So you don't have to review if you don't want to. Because this took forever and a day to get out. I am literally so busy at school it's ridiculous. My days are scheduled by the hour. I tell my friends that my life is a series of meetings and appointments. haha. _

_Anyways, I have added writing two hundred words a day of Going Home. Hopefully this will motivate me to get this story rolling again. But like always, school is the most important thing for me right now so if it takes another year to update, I really am sorry but that's just how it is. _

_Junior year at Penn State is a trip, but I gotta live it up while I can! _

_Keep reading other stories because there are some really great ones out there! And read mine if you want to too :)_

_I do love you all for real._

_love,_

_Maddison.  
_


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

I don't own anything

"Alright, so now you just sign here, here and here and then you, Ms. Black also sign and you and Mr. Brooks will be Nicole's legal guardians," the woman said, pointing on the blank lines.

I signed the papers quickly and watched as Paul also signed. He looked at me as he finished and kissed my cheek lightly. "Thank you, I couldn't have done this without you," he whispered in my ear as he handed the sheets over the counter.

"Congratulations," the woman said giving us a small smile. "Good luck," she added before moving stapling the papers and walking back into her office to file them away.

"Well, I think we better be going, if there's nothing else we have to do," Paul's mom said, looking at the clock on the wall. "We've got work to do at home."

I sighed, wishing they could take more time out of their day to spend with Nikki and Paul. Who knows when they would see their children again.

Paul frowned too but looked down at his sister. "You heard her Nick, give her a hug," Paul said, encouraging is sister towards her mom. "We should get home anyways. We can get home tonight if we leave soon."

"When will I see you again, Mommy?" Nikki asked as she buried her head into her mother stomach and started to cry.

Mrs. Brooks patted her daughter on the back lightly. "Maybe we will come back for Christmas." She looked over to her husband and he nodded. "We will let you know."

Nikki bounced off of her mom and onto her dad, hugging him tightly. "I will miss you, too Daddy."

"You will have to call her more often," Paul suggested, as he watched their goodbye from across the room. "She loves when you call her. It makes her day."

"We will try, it's gets busy around here," his mom said as she opened the door.

This caused me to frown again. If I_ am _pregnant, I thought to myself, I promise to never be too busy for my baby. Or for Nikki for that matter. If someone in my family needed me, there would be nothing stopping me from being with them to help them out. That was what a mom did, and I wouldn't be letting my babies down.

Nikki frowned and I saw the start of tears filling her eyes again. "I love you, Mommy." She said, kissing her mom on the cheek.

"I love you too, Nikki. Don't cry, kiddo. It's better this way, I promise," her mom said, kissing her forehead lightly.

Paul slung his arm around my shoulders and exhaled deeply as Nikki said her final goodbyes to her father. He watched as he dad kissed the top of his sisters head and as his mom held her hand.

"Are you going to say goodbye?" I whispered, looking up at him to see his eyes watery.

He shook his head, wiping his nose and eyes. "Nah, they haven't been my family for a while now," he said sadly, his eyes falling to the ground. I pulled him into my arms and kissed his neck lightly.

"I'm sorry baby," I whispered into his ear. I held back tears from my eyes, hurting for Paul as he watched his family.

I rubbed his back softly as we waited for Nikki to finish. The bell on the door rang, chiming that they had left. Nikki walked over to Paul slowly before leaning her head onto his hip.

Paul wrapped his arms around his sisters' waist and lifted her into his warm arms. She wiped her red eyes on Paul's shirt and hiccupped as she looked at us.

"Can we go home now?" she begged, a few more tears spilling down her cheeks.

I smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Of course, Nikki."

Paul sighed again kissing us both on the forehead. "Yes, let's please go home."

He helped us into the truck; Nikki sandwiched between us this time and headed towards the highway back to La Push.

It didn't take long for Nikki to place her head in my lap and fall asleep. I ran my hand through her soft hair and smiled down at her. She was mine now. Mine and Paul's. I loved her before, but now I felt more connected to her than I did before today.

"How are you feeling?" Paul asked quietly, looking over at me and smiling. He played with my fingers lovingly as he glanced back at the road.

"Fine, I just want to be home and to be back in my bed. This truck is too bumpy for my stomach right now," I said, leaning my head back on the seat, taking deep breaths.

Paul frowned. "I wish there was something I could do," he said, gripping the steering wheel tightly. I knew he was blaming himself again for making me feel this way.

"Don't freak out, Paul. I am fine. I feel like no matter what type of vehicle, I would still feel this way," I pulled one of his hands from the wheel, kissing his knuckles lightly. "Are you happy that this thing with your parents is over?" I asked, changing the subject to a happier one.

Paul leaned back into his seat and nodded. "Yeah, I am happy we don't have to deal with it anymore. She safe and sound now and nothing is going to take her away from us. She's ours."

I smiled at him and nodded. "Yep, I was just thinking the same thing. And once we go home, we will go back to having a nice, normal life."

"Rach, do you think you might be…" Paul grinned widely as he looked towards my stomach.

I chuckled at him before running my hands through Nikki's hair again. "I think it's a good possibility. All the signs are there. Maybe I should make a doctors appointment when we get home. I mean, why waste money on a test when a doctor's appointment is covered by my insurance. Which, by the way, with the signing of those papers is now Nikki's insurance… and maybe yours. You might be covered too." I would have to check that out later. "When do you want to get married?" I asked quietly.

"Now," Paul said smiling. "Tell me when and where, Rach. And I will be there. The sooner, the better in my opinion. I want our family to be complete in every way possible."

I smiled, but my stomach lurched. "Can you pull over, please?" I asked, taking deep breaths to attempt to calm my stomach, which was doing nothing to help me right now.

Paul frowned and immediately pulled the truck onto the side of the highway. He pulled Nikki off of me, as I flung the door open and hopped out. I felt Paul pull my hair back and rub my shoulders as I emptied to contents of my breakfast out in the grass. "Gross," I whimpered as I wiped my mouth off.

"I'm so sorry baby," Paul said, silently cursing the old truck for making her nauseous. "Do you want some water?" Nikki asked quietly from behind them. "I have gum too. It's minty."

I smiled and nodded at the little girl. "Thank you, Nikki. Sorry I had to wake you up."

"It's okay, Rachie. Do you want to sit next to Paulie for a little while?" she asked as she handed the water bottle to me.

I nodded and spit out the awful tasting water. "That would be great, Nikki." Nikki gave me the piece of gum and I climbed back into the truck. "Thank you, honey. I really appreciate it," I smiled at her and she gave me a gap-toothed grin back.

"Are you sure you're ready to get back on the road? We can hang out for a little while," he offered, turning the truck on cautiously.

"I feel better now. Although we might have to stop to eat sometime, being that most of my breakfast is on the side of the road now." I rested my head on his warm shoulder as he pulled the truck back onto the highway, falling asleep quickly.

"Shh, Nikki. Just open the door," Paul whispered, jolting me awake.

"Where are we?" I asked, groggily, looking around to see my apartment door open.

Nikki laughed from inside. "We're home silly! You slept for so long!" She yelped, apparently full of energy from being stuck in the car all day.

My eyes snapped open. "Are we really home?"

Paul nodded as he set me down on the couch. "You slept the whole way, I was starting to get worried."

"Great, now I'm going to be up all night," I said, frowning. Paul grinned and winked at me, my eyes rolled as I suppressed my own grin.

"I'm hungry! Let's get pizza!" Nikki said as she ran down the hallway back towards us.

"Yes, let's do that. I'm starved," I said, now realizing my hunger level.

Paul grabbed the phone and ordered three large pizzas immediately. Apparently, he was pretty hungry too.

* * *

"Pregnant?" I asked out loud. "Like really? Because I knew there was a chance, but maybe you should check again." I grabbed the papers out of the doctors hands to look for myself.

While I was having a mini-panic attack, Paul was next to be grinning like an idiot.

"I knew it!" he said, his white teeth shining. "Isn't this awesome, Rach?"

I gave him a small smile. "Yeah," I said, looking over the paper. "How many weeks along am I?"

"About six weeks," the doctor said, taking his clipboard back from me. "If you want to get dressed, I can meet you back out front to schedule your next appointment."

We nodded and he left the room. I leaned into Paul and smiled. "Are you ready for a baby?"

Paul shrugged. "I'm not sure that I'm ready, but I am pumped."

I laughed. "I am too. I wonder if Nikki will be. When should we tell her?"

"I vote we tell her as soon as we get home. I don't want to hide anything from her," Paul said as he handed me my jeans.

"Good idea," I said, agreeing. I pulled the rest of my clothes on and opened the door, returning to the front desk.

The doctor scheduled an appointment for two weeks later. He looked at us and smiled. "Congratulations. I will see you soon," he added before turning to the next patient.

"I need to call Rebecca," I said, pulling out my phone. "She's going to flip out."

Paul snorted. "I bet she already knows."

I pushed her number on my speed dial and she picked up immediately. "What is it?" she asked bluntly into the phone, causing me to laugh. "Something's up, and I can't put my finger on it."

"Paul's surprised you don't know yet," I said, still chuckling.

"Quit being a bitch and tell me," Rebecca demanded.

I smiled. "Do you think I will have our babies in my class together?"

"Our babies? Rachel! You are such a pregnant whore!" Rebecca yelled, making me pull the phone away from my ear.

I laughed out loud. "Look who's talking," I said, smiling.

"When can I see you?" Rebecca asked, calming down. "Did everything go okay with Nikki?"

"Everything went great. She's with Dad now. I think he's a little suspicious, so we better get over there and fill him in. I love you, Becca," I said, hanging up the phone and looked at Paul, who was still beaming.

"I don't think I could stop smiling even if I wanted to," Paul said picking me up as he hugged me.

"Are you scared?" I asked quietly, wrapping my legs around his waist.

Paul nodded. "I'm terrified, but I know us and I know that we will be okay," he reassured, kissing my slowly.

I closed my eyes and leaned into him. "What are you going to say to my dad when he finds out you knocked me up?"

This time he barked a laugh. "Your sister beat you to the punch. I think he's mentally prepared to be a grandpa, so this shouldn't be too traumatizing for him. Plus, your dad knows I love you and that I will protect you and our family from anything that comes our way."

I smiled and my heat melted. "I love you, Paul. I can't wait to have this baby with you."

"I love you too," he kissed me again before setting me back on the ground. "Let's go home and tell Nikki."

I put my seatbelt on and leaned against my fiancé as he drove towards my house. "We're going to need a bigger car."

Paul laughed as he kissed my forehead. "Yes, we will."

_Woot woot! Chapter 30 is up... finally. Yikes, sorry guys. But this story is coming to an end. I would say one or two chapters left! Holy Cow! I can't believe it haha._

_Also, I have another story that I'm writing now. It's a True Blood story. So if any of you guys are fans of the show, check it out! If you haven't seen the show and are over 18, I would HIGHLY recommend it. It's so fun and addictive!_

_You all know the drill, read and review if you want._

_I love you all!_

_Maddison  
_


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

I don't own anything

Another shiver rippled through my cold body as I sat on the couch watching iCarly with Nikki. I forgot how freezing the La Push winters could be. Snuggling closer to the little girl beside me, I tightened the fleece blanket over our shoulders again.

Nikki giggled at something on the show and rubbed my growing belly softly, smiling at it. "Freddie is funny, isn't he, baby?"

I smiled lovingly at her. For the past three months, Nikki had been a great help with this pregnancy. The first trimester was extremely hard on me and Paul. With the constant puking and fatigue, I wasn't very much help around the apartment. Nikki picked up where I couldn't, cleaning and vacuuming whenever I asked her to.

"When will Paulie be home?" Nikki asked as she turned her head up to me, her brown eyes questioning mine.

I sighed and readjusted the blanket again, suddenly feeling colder. "Late, kiddo. He's working on Sue Clearwaters' snow-blower then he was to work with Sam tonight." When we found out I was pregnant, Paul started picking up odd jobs around La Push to earn some extra money, knowing that sometime we would have to move.

Nikki frowned, before quickly sitting up, probably noticing my dull mood. "Do you want some popcorn? With lots of salt and butter?"

"You know me so well," I said, laughing. This baby loves popcorn, so it has been a main portion of my diet for the past couple months. Nikki hopped off the couch and skipped to the kitchen. Seconds later I heard the popping in the microwave.

A loud wolf's howl broke the monotony of the children's television show, causing me to jump off the couch and stumble to the window, looking out into the night.

I leapt towards the door, locking it quickly. I knew when the howls were bad, and this one wasn't good. I sped to the kitchen and locked that door too, pulling the shade shut on the door.

Nikki looked at me like I had four heads as I pulled the curtain shut. "You're doing that thing again, Rachie," she cocked her head, looking at me closely.

Sighing, I sat at the table and laid my head down. We still hadn't told Nikki anything about the werewolves. In the past few weeks, Nessie, Jacobs imprint was gaining a lot of interest. Only two vampires had crossed onto our reservation, but the boys were still on edge. She thought that my being worried about the wolves outside had something to do with my pregnancy.

It seemed that now that there was no danger involved in the Cullen's new addition to the family, more of their vampire friends wanted to get to know her. Paul's protective genes were going insane. Anytime he was away, his instincts would go crazy until I was back in his eyesight. The new vampires circling around weren't helping.

He and Embry together were very amusing to watch. Rebecca was now seven months pregnant and was getting bigger everyday. Being that she has twins growing inside of her, her pregnancy had a high chance of ending early. Once Embry found this out, he got even more freaked out about his future babies.

"I just want to make sure we are safe, Nikki," I reasoned, grabbing a handful of popcorn as she sat it on the table. "Did you finish that chapter you were supposed to read for school?" diverting her from the subject.

Nikki nodded and sat across from me at the table. "Yeah, Paulie said that if I did all my homework as soon as I got home, we could make a snowman this weekend," she smiled brightly. "I hope it snows all night and they cancel school. I really want to make that snowman."

"Me too," I looked out the window at the huge snowflake that were falling out of the sky. "Plus, we could use a day off."

Another howl ripped through the silence, causing both of us to jump up. Nikki's eyes filled with tears. "This is scarier than usual, Rachie. I don't like it."

My wide eyes nodded and I pulled her around the table and onto my lap. "It will be over soon, Nick."

"Why are there wolves here all the time?" Nikki asked, sniffling quietly, eying the window carefully.

I let out a strained sigh, wishing I could tell her everything. "That's just the way it is, kiddo."

"I want Paulie to come home," Nikki whispered as she ran her hand over my stomach.

"Me too," I said under my breath. "Let's move to mine and Paul's bedroom. It will be more comfy there. Maybe we can get some sleep."

Nikki hopped up and grabbed my hand. She walked close to me as we moved to the bedroom. She grabbed a book before jumping onto the bed and snuggling up against me. She pulled the blanket over us and I found my eyes drooping as she hummed to herself.

* * *

ooo

"Oh my gosh, Paulie! What happened?" Nikki yelped and jumped up, causing my eyes to snap open.

Paul looked like a deer in headlights as he froze in the doorway, looking at both of us in the bed.

I sat up and looked at him. His shirt was ripped to shreds and his skin was covered in dried blood. Paul's hair was standing at all ends and his shorts were coated in the red liquid.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I rushed over to him. "You were hurt," I gasped as I inspected him, running my hands over his bloody abs.

"No! I mean, yeah, but I'm fine now," Paul said quickly, moving towards the bathroom slowly. "I will be right back, I don't want you two seeing this. Don't freak out please."

He came out seconds later with a new shirt on, covering the blood. "I'm fine everyone. No blood. No pain. We are all good," he said, smiling slightly at the two of us. Nikki and I gave him a blank stare, not knowing what to believe.

"But-" I started, reaching towards him.

"Nick will you go grab an extra blanket, it's freezing in here," Paul said, lying to his little sister, patting her head.

She slowly got out of the bed and left the room, still staring at Paul.

"We will talk about all of this later, okay, Rach?" Paul's eyed pleaded with mine until I nodded.

My heart was still racing and the tears in my eyes weren't going away. Even though I knew Paul was fine, I couldn't control it. I sniffled before getting up, cursing my pregnant hormones for making me feel this way. "I need to go to the bathroom," my eyes fell to the ground, refusing to look back up at Paul.

"Wait," he grabbed my arm lightly, forcing me to stop. "Please don't cry, Rachel. It kills me when you cry. I can feel it, you know. I know when you are sad or scared. Please don't cry," he repeated. "I really am fine. You know how fast I heal. It takes more than a couple vampires to get to me."

His comment had the opposite effect he was going for and tears fell down my cheeks. I sobbed loudly, causing Paul to jump, not used to me crying like an idiot.

"Shit. Rachel come here, honey." He pulled me into his arms and ran his hands through my hair. "I'm really fine, baby."

I rubbed my face on his clean shirt and sighed. "I'm sorry. I was just so scared when I heard the wolves and then you come in all bloody…"

Paul frowned and pulled me closer. "I'm sorry, Rachel," he said guiltily.

"I have your blanket, Paulie," Nikki whispered from behind me.

Paul tore his eyes from me and crouched down to his sisters level. "Thanks, Nikki. It's pretty late though. Are you okay to sleep in your room?"

She nodded slowly and wrapped her little arms around Paul's neck. "I love you, Paulie. I'm glad you are okay."

He kissed her cheek lightly. "If you need anything, just knock, okay kiddo?"

She nodded and moved on to me, wrapping her arms around my middle. Nikki kissed my stomach lightly before pulling me down and hugging me tightly. "Love you, Rachel."

I sniffed again as I smiled at her. "I love you too, sweetie. Good night."

"I'll go tuck her in, okay, Rach?" He looked at me until I nodded before moving away.

Moving to the bed, I wiped my tears away, groaning inwardly. This emotional whiplash was starting to embarrass me.

Paul came back and stood in the doorway, smiling sadly at me. "Do you mind if I shower? I just changed my shirt before and…" he trailed off, not wanting to mention the blood that had dried on his skin earlier.

"Go ahead," I said quietly. "I'm feeling better now." Paul tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, questioning my last statement, causing me to smiling slightly. "No, I'm really fine. I'm going to heat up some apple cider while you're in the shower, so hurry up." I lifted myself off the bed and reached up to kiss his cheek softly. "Go, honey, I'm fine."

He exhaled and the tension in his back released. Paul leaned into my kiss and sighed. "I'll be right back," he added before turning towards the bathroom.

I poured some of the cider into a pot and put it on the stove, adding some cinnamon and watched it as it heated up.

Paul's warm arms wrapped around my growing stomach and he kissed my shoulder sweetly. "How are we doing, family?" Paul asked and I was not able to contain my smile.

"Better now that Daddy's home," I cheeked, turning to kiss him.

He was grinning widely. "I love when you call me that."

"I know," I chuckled as I poured my cider into a mug and moved to the table. "Alright, I've got a good hold on my emotions right now. Want to fill me in on what happened tonight?"

Paul's smile faded, but it was still there as he sat across from me. "Yeah, it's really not that big of a deal." I gave him a pointed look and he grinned. "Another coven or whatever came through Forks. And apparently they aren't as good of friends with the Cullens as the others. Anyway, they decided to take a shortcut through La Push. They ran right into me and Embry."

"So you took care of them?" I asked, rubbing my stomach subconsciously.

Paul nodded and laughed, noticing my movements. "Feeling protective, Momma bear?"

I blushed but shrugged, scoffing at him. "Tell me the rest, please."

"Well, naturally we did take them out. They put up a fight though, hence the blood," Paul said, rubbing his chest and stomach.

"What happened?" I prodded, needing to know exactly what happened to him.

"The one threw me into a tree and got me when his nails. They are really sharp," Paul explained. "It looked worse than it was. It was just a typical day at work, baby," he said, trying to lighten the situation.

I nodded, sighing. "It was really scary," I whispered, losing eye contact with him.

My fiancé frowned deeply. "I'm really sorry, baby. I hate that this is stressing you out. Especially now, it's not healthy for you or our baby. I wish I could do something."

"You gotta do what you gotta do, Paulie," I said quietly. "Don't worry, we were fine. It was just nerve wracking for a little while. But I know you will keep us safe no matter what happens. I'm really not worried about me, our baby, or Nikki. I worry the most about you. When you came in with all that blood on you, my heart broke."

Paul pulled his chair next to me. "I'm fine. I was born to do two things. The first is to kill vampires, and the next is to love you. As long as I'm doing both of those things, everything will be fine."

I smiled at him. "I know. My pregnant brain just over thinks it sometimes," I said, sipping on my cider.

"Are we good now? One hundred percent good?" Paul asked, pulling me onto his lap.

Nodding, I finished my drink before leaning up to kiss him. "One hundred percent good."

**Hi everyone! Again, school and life has got the better of me. But I was really inspired today, so I banged out a chapter! I hope you all like it! It was more of a fluffy, non plotty chapter, but I thought it was kind of cute. So hopefully I will have another chapter out semi-soon, but don't hold me to that. **

**Keep reading other stories and reviewing for everything you read! It really makes a writers day when they get an email with a review in it! **

**I love you all and I hope you are still enjoying this story**

**Keep reading :) Maddison.**


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